Korea JoongAng Daily - Daily News from Korea

Jaung Hoon

The author is an emeritus professor at Chung-Ang University and a columnist at the JoongAng Ilbo.

Crises ask fundamental questions. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Are you too busy putting out immediate fires to think ahead, or do you retain the capacity to plan for the long term? And when crisis strikes, do you have partners who will stand with you?

The war unfolding in Iran, some 6,500 kilometers (4,039 miles) west of the Korean Peninsula, raises difficult questions for Korea. As an energy-importing country heavily dependent on oil and gas from the Middle East, it must consider how to respond to supply disruptions. From a security perspective, issues range from the sudden relocation of Unites States Forces Korea's Thaad battery to requests for naval deployments to help secure the Strait of Hormuz. Ethical questions also arise: how to assess Iran's theocratic regime, which has suppressed civilian protests, and how to respond to U.S. actions targeting that regime's leadership.

As in past crises, Korea has been swift and effective in its short-term response. Yet there is limited attention to mid-to-long-term strategies that require political deliberation and public consensus. This reflects what might be called the "short-termism dilemma of democratic politics." Austrian political economist Joseph Schumpeter warned that political forces focused on upcoming elections tend to neglect long-term vision. His observation remains relevant in Korea.

The government's rapid response to the Middle East crisis is evident. International oil prices quickly surpassed $100 per barrel as the conflict escalated, casting a shadow over the domestic economy. At the same time, tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz faced disruption.

On March 6, Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik announced an agreement to import 6 million barrels of crude oil from the United Arab Emirates, more than twice Korea's daily consumption. Just two days later, on March 8, a United Arab Emirates' (UAE) transport aircraft arrived at Daegu Airport to collect more than 30 Cheongung-II surface-to-air missiles that Korea had agreed to supply. The UAE needed the system to defend against Iranian missile threats, while Korea sought to stabilize its oil supply. The exchange reflected a convergence of strategic needs.

The government also introduced a temporary price cap on gasoline to stabilize market sentiment. As a result, President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating has risen to 67 percent, maintaining strong public support despite inflationary pressures linked to the crisis.

While Korea has focused on the Middle East, notable developments have been unfolding in the Pacific. On March 6, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Japan and announced a comprehensive strategic partnership covering security, energy, AI and critical minerals. Prior to that, he visited Australia, where both countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in maritime security, trade, AI and key resources.

These moves are not merely ceremonial. Earlier this year, Carney declared in a widely discussed speech that the post-World War II, U.S.-led international order has effectively come to an end. He argued that the world has entered a period of uncertainty, with the United States increasingly seeking to monetize its relationships with allies through measures such as tariff pressure and demands for investment.

The alternative, in his view, is cooperation among like-minded middle powers. Without such cooperation, he warned, middle powers risk becoming subjects shaped by great powers. Canada, a Group of 7 economy rich in resources and closely tied to the United States yet maintaining a complex relationship, is positioning itself at the forefront of this shift.

For Korea, these developments raise pressing questions. In a world marked by growing disorder, what vision of the future will it pursue? Will it remain a reactive middle power, relying on industries such as defense, shipbuildi...

President Lee Jae Myung has brought the long-stalled debate surrounding constitutional revision into a new phase. At a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Lee called a proposal by National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik a "reasonable suggestion" and urged the government to review it officially and formulate a position. He also expressed support for a "phased and gradual" approach to any revisions.

Woo proposed three key amendments on March 10: strengthening parliamentary control over emergency martial law; inserting the spirit of the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising in the Constitution's preamble; and incorporating the principle of balanced regional development. Lee went further, instructing ministries to review adding the Busan-Masan democratic protests to the preamble. His decision to initiate such discussions carries weight, as constitutional reform has long been described as a historical task but rarely pursued in practice.

This marks the first time since the current Constitution was adopted in 1987 that both the president, who holds the authority to propose amendments, and the head of the legislature, who oversees their passage, have aligned, even on only a partial revision. The emphasis on a gradual approach is also significant, as this may help broaden public consensus for updating the 1987 framework to reflect changing realities.

The existing Constitution was a major achievement of the democratization movement nearly four decades ago, but it has also enabled the concentration of power in what critics describe as an "imperial presidency." This structure has contributed to recurring political conflicts and even institutional instability, culminating in extreme scenarios — such as controversial emergency measures — at times.

Lee first raised the issue in his Constitution Day speech last year, during which he stated that just as people change clothes to match the season, the Constitution should be revised to fit new circumstances. During his presidential campaign, he emphasized reforms to the power structure, including a four-year presidential term with re-election and a runoff voting system. Constitutional revision was also listed as the top priority among the administration's 123 national policy tasks.

There is general agreement across political lines that a winner-takes-all system has intensified factional conflict and hindered national unity. Despite this consensus, past attempts at revision have repeatedly stalled. Political leaders often champion reform before gaining power, only to sideline it afterward.

This time, however, the alignment between a president backed by a strong ruling party and the National Assembly speaker could make a difference. The ruling and opposition parties should work together to hold a constitutional referendum alongside the June 3 local elections.

That process should also open the way for deeper deliberation on a more fundamental shift toward a decentralized power structure. While the path will be complex and time-consuming, it could mark a first step toward a more cooperative and integrated political system, grounded in balance, accountability and long-term institutional stability.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

This article is by Lee Jae-lim and read by an artificial voice.

Korea's industrial heavyweights — Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Hyundai Motor — announced a series of landmark deals with Nvidia at its GTC 2026 developer conference in San Jose on Monday, placing Korean manufacturers in the spotlight for their growing ties with the U.S. company on AI infrastructure.

Samsung Electronics received global spotlight at the event due to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's shout out, in which he said the chipmaker is "cranking" production of Groq's latest AI chips, known as the Nvidia Groq 3 LPU.

"I want to thank Samsung, who manufactures the Groq 3 LPU chip for us, and they're cranking as hard as they can," he said.

LPU refers to language processing units designed for AI inference. Huang added that the chip is already in production and is expected to begin shipping in the second half of the year, likely around the third quarter.

Groq's chips are currently being produced at Samsung's Pyeongtaek campus in Gyeonggi using the company's 4-nanometer process. It remains unclear, however, whether production will eventually move to Samsung's foundry plant in Taylor, Texas, once it begins mass production next year.

Although rumors had circulated for months, this marked the first time Huang publicly confirmed that Samsung's foundry business is manufacturing Groq's newest AI chip. Huang also said the inference accelerator rack, the Nvidia Groq 3 LPX that is powered by 256 Groq 3 LPUs, can speed up inference workloads by as much as 35 times when paired with the Vera Rubin architecture.

Nvidia invested $20 billion in the U.S. startup in December of last year to license Groq's inference technology and recruit talent from the company.

Samsung also unveiled its seventh-generation high bandwidth memory, HBM4E, at the event's booth ahead of planned sample shipments in mid-2026.

It marked Samsung's first public showcase of the next-generation memory technology ahead of mass production and signaled that the company is already looking ahead to supply the advanced memory to the U.S. company alongside rivals such as SK hynix.

The HBM4Es are built on 10-nanometer-class 1c dynamic random access memory (DRAM), referring to Samsung's advanced memory manufacturing node, with a 4-nanometer logic process used to control memory operations. The chips can deliver processing speeds of 16 gigabits per second (Gbps), a 36 percent improvement over the previous generation's 11 Gbps and double the performance of the current industry standard of 8 Gbps. The chips also achieve 4.0 terabytes per second of bandwidth, referring to the total amount of data the memory can transfer each second.

Its sixth-generation HBM4, which have already begun mass production, will be integrated into Nvidia's Vera Rubin platform.

SK hynix's booth featured HBM4 that is still undergoing final testing from Nvidia. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung attended the event, with the chairman telling reporters on the sidelines that he is considering U.S. stock market listing through an American depositary receipt (ADR) program.

"I think it would allow the company to gain exposure not only to Korean shareholders but also to U.S. and global investors," he said. Chey also forecast the global memory shortage would last until 2030, saying the supply crunch stems from a lack of wafers.

"Producing HBM requires a large number of wafers, and securing additional wafer capacity takes at least four to five years," he said, adding that SK hynix plans to announce a new plan to stabilize DRAM prices soon.

For Hyundai Motor, the partnership expands collaboration with the U.S. company on autonomous driving technologies and robotaxi services.

The automaker plans to apply Nvidia's Level 2 and higher autonomous driving technologies to selected vehicle models. Over the longer term, the two sides aim to extend their cooperation to Level 4 robotaxis. The effort will be led through Motional, a U.S.-bas...

This article is by Yoon Seung-jin and read by an artificial voice.

Camila Daniela Paez Rubiano, an international student studying mechanical and biomedical engineering at Ewha Womans University, is also known by the nickname "master of part-time jobs."

She first started working part-time as a kitchen assistant four years ago to earn money while studying in Korea. Since then, she has taken on various part-time jobs, ranging from working as staff at PC bangs (internet cafes) to serving as a server at several restaurants.

Based on her four years of experience with part-time work, Paez Rubiano says that finding a job as a foreign student in Korea can be complicated, and the experience can sometimes feel both rewarding and unfair.

"The documentation process is such a long journey and pretty complicated for international students, and I've faced discrimination as an expat," Paez Rubiano told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

"However, there are many things I learned from working part-time that helped me grow along the way as an international student here."

Paez Rubiano is one of the growing numbers of international students taking on part-time jobs in Korea.

According to data released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics in December last year, the number of international students working in the country was 56,000, a 71.8 percent jump from the 2024 figure of 33,000.

Under current visa regulations, international students are allowed to work up to 30 hours per week, depending on their Korean language proficiency and the degree program.

The Korea JoongAng Daily spoke with three international students currently working part-time in Korea — Paez Rubiano from Colombia, Lea Maxima Septinus from Germany and Iskandarova Mehrona from Tajikistan — to share their experiences, challenges and advice for those who may be new to the country and hoping to find part-time jobs.

Q. What part-time job are you currently doing, and what exactly are your responsibilities?

A. Paez Rubiano: I'm working as a server at a restaurant in Apgujeong. My basic responsibilities are taking orders, delivering food and preparing tables for other customers.

Septinus: I'm doing two part-time jobs. I work at a bakery and a cafe. These days, I'm slowly learning how to make different beverages.

Mehrona: I'm currently working as a part-time staff member in the journalism and broadcasting department at my university. My responsibilities include interviewing students and creating video content to promote our university.

How did you find your part-time job?

Paez Rubiano: At first, I used Albamon to find part-time jobs, but it's more for Koreans than foreigners, so I started using Craigslist more. There, employers look for foreign employees, and most of them already know the process of hiring foreign workers. So I'd recommend looking for more foreigner-friendly platforms.

Septinus: I applied to jobs on Albamon that said they were looking for foreign workers, but somehow the in-app application didn't really work. So, I just walked into the cafe and gave them my resume.

For the bakery job, when I visited the bakery during lunchtime, they asked if I was a student, whether I could speak Korean, and a few other personal questions, and asked if I could work there.

Mehrona: At my university, there was a contest for students where we had to make a short video and post it on Instagram with the theme "A Day in My Life in Korea as a Student." The video that received the most views would win first place and a cash prize.

My video ended up getting the most views, so I won the contest. After the award ceremony, they invited me to their office and offered me a part-time job.

How was the interview, and what questions were you asked?

Paez Rubiano: Nothing really special. They just asked me whether I had experience and where I lived.

Septinus: I was asked pretty typical interview questions like, "Do you have prior experience making coffee?" and "If there's a problem with your coworkers, how would y...

This article is by Entertainment Team and read by an artificial voice.

Brace yourselves, ARMY — and anyone heading near Gwanghwamun this weekend.

Some 260,000 people are expected to gather near the venue for BTS's highly anticipated comeback performance, "BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang," at Gwanghwamun Square on Saturday.

As unprecedented as the event is in its venue, scale and extravagance, it is also likely to raise plenty of questions for both attendees and those hoping to take part in the once-in-a-lifetime festivities.

For those wondering what to expect and concerned about safety, the Korea JoongAng Daily has prepared an extensive FAQ sheet to answer a wide range of questions about the show and everything related to it, from what to bring to the show and how to get home afterward.

Q. What can fans expect from the performance?

A. BigHit Music has been tight-lipped about the detailed structure and set list of the show, which will be directed by Hamish Hamilton, best known for directing the Super Bowl halftime shows.

But we know one thing for sure. "Swim," the lead track from the group's upcoming album "Arirang," will make its stage debut at the Saturday show along with additional new tracks, per HYBE on its Weverse post. Some of its past hits will also be performed, according to local media reports.

Given that the "Arirang" album highlights BTS's artistic roots, the performance is likely to incorporate themes reflecting the group's musical journey and identity as Korean artists. If things go as initially planned, a Korean traditional music ensemble will perform "Arirang," the country's centuries-old folk song, while a traditional dance troupe will also take the stage.

How long will the show last?

The performance is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. after audience entry closes at 7 p.m. and will run for about one hour. The entry process will begin at noon with ID verification, and actual entry will start from 5 p.m.

What should attendees bring, and what should they leave behind?

What to bring: a mobile ticket and a valid physical ID. Copies or photos of IDs will not be accepted.

What's suggested to bring: an ARMY Bomb light stick and small water bottles under 500 milliliters (16.9 ounces) to prevent dehydration.

What not to bring: cameras, selfie sticks and other recording equipment, as taking photos and recording videos are strictly prohibited. Electronic devices such as laptops are also banned.

Bags larger than an A3 sheet of paper, stick umbrellas and banners with poles are prohibited for safety reasons. Other banned items include balloons, inflatable balls, banners containing political or offensive messages, materials intended for marketing or advertising, laser pointers, lanterns and fireworks.

What to know: Any fan-organized events that have not been approved in advance, such as handing out items or holding performances near the venue, will not be permitted. Police ask that attendees minimize the number of personal belongings they bring, as it could slow down bag checks.

BTS's Gwanghwamun performance will serve as a test bed for a government-led initiative to wipe out ticket scalping, meaning hard-line measures will be implemented for the event.

First, a separate zone will be set up solely for ID verification. Verified attendees will be given a wristband that cannot be reattached if removed or damaged. Even after entry, there can be random checks for further verifications, and those who fail will be immediately removed.

A total of 56 police officers will be deployed around the show venue to crack down on any ticket scalping.

What happens if it rains or the weather turns bad?

There are no national guidelines for outdoor concerts in the event of rain. However, outdoor festivals in Korea typically proceed as scheduled if rainfall remains below about 3 millimeters per hour or 20 millimeters per day (0.12 inches per hour or 0.78 inches per day). Performances may be temporarily halted or suspended based on on-site condition...

This article is by Michael Lee and read by an artificial voice.

[KOREAN CRIME FILES #16]

Behind the glitz and glamour seen in pop culture, Korea's grimmest and most harrowing crime stories, some more well-known than others, continue to haunt society today. The Korea JoongAng Daily takes a deep dive into some of these stories, sharing a glimpse into the darker side of society as well as the most up-to-date known facts. — Ed.

At 12:38 p.m. on Sept. 6, 2006, the mother of eight-year-old Park Jeong-ho (pseudonym) called home from a job training center.

Her husband had left for work in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, at 5 a.m., leaving their son to his own devices for most of the day. Since Park would be alone in the family's 13th-floor apartment in Ulsan that afternoon, she wanted to make sure he was safe.

"Don't forget to lock the door and finish your homework before your tutor arrives," she told him. Park, who was at home with a friend visiting after school, responded, "Yes, mother."

It was the kind of everyday conversation between mother and son that suggested nothing was awry. When Park's mother hung up, she had little reason to think it would be the last time she would hear his voice.

Less than four hours later, firefighters dispatched to the apartment after a fire was reported there made a chilling discovery inside: Park's body, beaten and bound.

As police began investigating the crime, questions abounded. Why was the boy attacked, and how did his assailant enter the apartment in the first place?

Fire on the 13th floor

The first sign that something was amiss on the 13th floor was smoke emanating from the Park family's apartment.

Residents of the building reported the acrid smell at 3:41 p.m., just three hours after Park's mother had called him.

At first, the fire appeared to be accidental — the sort of household blaze sparked by an appliance or gas leak. Firefighters pumped water into the apartment as thick gray fumes billowed into the communal hallway.

Once the flames were under control, firefighters entered to check whether anyone remained inside.

There, in the larger of the apartment's two bedrooms, they found Park. He was lying on the floor, his wrists tied together and his mouth covered with green tape. Nearby lay a burned baseball bat, a blackened kitchen knife and a roll of tape.

When the smoke cleared

The discovery of the boy was reported to police by one of the firefighters at approximately 3:52 p.m.

Initially, Park appeared unharmed by the fire itself. Firefighters carried him out of the scorched apartment and tore away the green tape that bound him. It was only then, as they checked his vitals, that they realized he was already dead.

According to the autopsy, the immediate cause of death was asphyxiation, although the examination also revealed that he had suffered a blunt-force injury to the back right side of his head, along with signs of brain trauma consistent with a strike from a heavy object.

The coroner found soot in Park's airway, suggesting that the boy had still been breathing — albeit unconscious — when the fire began. Given the items found next to his body, investigators surmised that the unknown intruder likely threatened the eight-year-old with a knife, clubbed him on the head with a bat, restrained him with tape and then set the residence ablaze.

The assailant appeared to have started the fire in two separate places inside the apartment: the large bedroom, where Park was found, and the smaller bedroom close to the front door, which was locked when firefighters arrived.

Investigators later concluded that the assailant used a key, which was found atop a shelf by the entrance, to lock that door — most likely in order to delay notice of the fire.

Narrow gap in time

As investigators pieced together the final hours of Park's life, witness statements narrowed the likely window during which the assault and arson took place to less than an hour.

The friend who was with Park in the early afternoon told detectives he...

This article is by Lee Jian and read by an artificial voice.

[INTERVIEW]

YONGIN, Gyeonggi — At 91 years old, Kim Yun-shin is receiving a level of recognition in Korea that eluded her for decades.

After spending 40 years carving wood in Argentina, largely outside the spotlight of the Korean art world, the pioneering sculptor is now the subject of her first full retrospective at the Hoam Museum of Art, running through June 28.

"Seeing so many of my works here, all at once for the first time, I feel that they are completely me," she told the Korea JoongAng Daily in an interview at the museum in Yongin, Gyeonggi, on Friday. "I see my journey of searching for myself."

Kim belongs to the generation of artists who emerged in postwar Korea, enrolling in Hongik University's Department of Sculpture in 1955. Despite her evident talent, she remained largely unknown to the public for decades, especially compared to contemporaries like Park Seo-bo, Lee Ufan and Kim Tschang-yeul, as she moved to Argentina in the 1980s in search of the best materials for her art and more opportunities to show her work, which was scant for a female sculptor in the 1970s and 1980s. She would continue living and working there for the next 40 years. Her foray into the public eye came in 2023, when she was invited by the Nam-Seoul Museum of Art for a solo exhibition, leading to her participation in the Venice Biennale in 2024.

Now, her retrospective at Hoam Museum of Art features approximately 170 works — including her iconic wood sculptures as well as lithographs, rock works and paintings — spanning some 70 years of the artist's career.

They are the selected batch from over a thousand more pieces, according to Hoam's curator, Tae Hyun-seon. "Kim Yun-shin has worked as if breathing — as though art were the way to prove that she has lived," Tae said. "This exhibition introduces an artist who has lived her entire life as one with art, guided by pure passion and conviction."

The highlight of the show is "Add Two Add One, Divide Two Divide One" (1987–88), a 181-centimeter-tall (71-inch-tall) vertical sculpture carved from Argentine palo santo wood and now part of the collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. It is being publicly displayed in her homeland for the first time.

"Add Two Add One, Divide Two Divide One," shortened to "Two Be One," is also the title of the retrospective, alluding to the fusion of artist and material to give birth to yet another entity, a work of art. It reflects Kim's longstanding working method since the 1960s, where she has worked without croquis, models or preliminary plans. Instead, she waits for the material to speak first.

"I place the wood there and look at it for a long time," she said, "until the wood and I can become one, and then I simply follow wherever the saw moves.

"If I draw everything beforehand, or plan the composition in advance, the moment has already passed. Life exists in this very instant. Everything must be completed within this moment."

"Moment" is the artist's favorite word.

"If you look from outside the universe, all matter exists in this very moment. So things are born in this moment, and they die in this moment," she explains, in other words, stating that to her, time is not so much a long continuous flow, but rather a series of events that are constantly being created and disappearing in each moment.

"So, when that moment comes, I lift the saw and begin, and that is when the form begins to appear. I see the space here, and then I think about how the next space should follow," she said.

Her tool of choice is a chainsaw, which she began using to cut through the extremely dense hardwoods she encountered in Argentina — a method that also suited her famously impatient temperament. Over the years, the image of the white-haired artist wielding a large chainsaw has become something of an icon: a grandmotherly figure carving through thick logs with fierce determination.

"My driving force is thoug...

This article is by Lee Jae-lim and read by an artificial voice.

Samsung Electronics is preparing to build a second chip factory at its semiconductor cluster in Taylor, Texas, as major U.S. tech companies line up to place their orders amid strained capacity at Taiwanese rival TSMC.

The project has entered the early stages of regulatory preparation, after the Taylor City Council approved an amendment extending its contract with HDR Engineering, a U.S. company which provides permitting and construction inspection work for the Samsung Taylor campus. Council documents dated on Feb. 26 and Thursday show that the extension allows the city to continue supporting regulatory review for the planned second factory.

"Consider approval of Amendment No. 1 to Task Order No. 42 with HDR Engineering, Inc. for development permit review and code compliance inspection services related to the development of the Samsung 'Fab 2' project," the Feb. 26 city council agenda packet reads. Documents dated Thursday show that the motion passed unanimously.

The planned Fab 2 facility is estimated to span about 2.7 million square feet, the same size as the Fab 1 building currently under construction.

HDR Engineering will perform reviews for the fab design, assist Samsung in securing building permits and handle permit issuance, as well as conduct construction code inspections, which are safety and compliance checks during the build to make sure the project follows approved plans.

Construction will begin once the building permits are issued.

Beyond Fab 2, more factories could follow. Samsung purchased 1,268 acres of land in Taylor to build its semiconductor cluster, which is large enough to accommodate up to 10 fabs. Samsung selected Taylor as the site for its second U.S. semiconductor foundry in November 2021 and began construction in 2022. The project was initially announced as a $17 billion investment, which was later expanded to total $37 billion, including a $4.75 billion subsidy from the U.S. government under the CHIPS and Science Act.

The campus will focus on producing chips for high-performance computing (HPC) and automotive applications using the company's 2-nanometer process. Digitimes reported Wednesday that Samsung has already secured 121 customers for the campus. Potential large orders could come from major technology firms such as Google, AMD and ByteDance.

The first plant is preparing to start mass production next year as part of Samsung's deal with Tesla. The company nabbed a $16.5 billion contract to manufacture Tesla's AI5 and AI6 chips, though it remains unclear whether extra orders from Tesla have expanded the scope of the deal, which previously covered only AI6 chips.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously stated on X that mass production of the AI5 chip is expected around mid-2027.

Samsung has recently posted 180 job positions for the Taylor site, covering roles in facilities and infrastructure development, tool installation and equipment readiness, yield engineering and manufacturing support.

The company also obtained a temporary permit from Taylor City covering about 88,000 square feet within the first facility, according to city officials in February, indicating that partial operations have already begun in that space.

Under Samsung's agreement with the city, the company needs to complete a total of 6 million square feet of campus facilities, including manufacturing space, utilities, infrastructure and support facilities. An additional 1 million square feet must be added by 2028.

Samsung Foundry, which has been buried in losses for several years, is expected to return to profitability from the fourth quarter of this year. Kiwoon Securities projected the business unit will post 163 billion won ($109 million) in operating profit during the period.

"With big tech companies set to ramp up shipments of customized semiconductors from 2026, Samsung Foundry is expected to achieve meaningful top-line growth from 2027 related chip production surges,"...

Park Won-gon

The author is a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University.

The war between Israel and Iran that U.S. President Donald Trump initiated on Feb. 28, promising a short campaign, is expanding rather than ending. Early in the conflict, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth — heading the U.S. Department of Defense — insisted that the military attacks have an end. But Iran's response has indicated the opposite.

Tehran has elevated the hard-line Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader and is signaling its determination to fight to the end. Most notably, Iran has effectively moved to close the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic chokepoint that can raise global oil prices and expose a critical vulnerability for the United States.

The impact has already been felt domestically in the United States. Gasoline prices have increased roughly 20 percent compared to the first week of the war, approaching $4 per gallon. Because fuel prices are among the most visible economic indicators for voters, the surge quickly affected Trump's approval ratings and domestic political pressure. What the U.S. president expected to be a quick victory over Iran now appears to be caught in Tehran's strategy.

The consequences of this unpredictable war for the global order and the Korean Peninsula can be examined from three perspectives.

First, the conflict is undermining the foundations of the liberal international order. Since the end of World War II in 1945, the international system built around the United Nations has relied on several principles: the respect for sovereignty, the preservation of territorial integrity and the peaceful settlement of disputes. Central to that framework is Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the UN Charter, which prohibits the threat or use of force by member states except in cases of self-defense.

Trump argued that Iran posed an "imminent threat" without presenting concrete evidence. The United States then chose to take military action while negotiations with Iran were still underway, effectively attempting to alter the status quo through force.

A deeper problem is that permanent members of the UN Security Council — the states meant to safeguard international order — have themselves become agents of its erosion. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, followed by U.S. attacks on Venezuela and Iran, has weakened the authority of the UN system. The vision of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who hoped cooperation among major powers would prevent another global war after the devastation of World War II, appears increasingly fragile.

Second, the conflict raises the possibility that the United States may once again fall into what scholars call an "imperial overstretch." After the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, the United States spent nearly two decades absorbed in the "war on terror." The decision by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to abruptly withdraw from Afghanistan was intended to free Washington from prolonged Middle Eastern entanglements.

But the Trump administration has once again become deeply involved in the region. If the closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to drive oil prices higher, the United States may find itself tied to Middle Eastern conflicts for the long term.

Washington's own strategic documents point in another direction. The National Security Strategy released in November 2025 and the National Defense Strategy announced in January identified the Western Hemisphere and the Indo-Pacific as the country's primary strategic regions. They also made clear that the United States aims to deter China through military strength in the Indo-Pacific.

However, the United States now faces simultaneous challenges in multiple theaters: Europe, where the Russia-Ukraine war continues; the Indo-Pacific, where tensions with China persist; and the Middle East, where a new war is unfolding.

This situation suggests that the United States is no longer acting as an overwhelmingly dominant hegemon. Instead, it...

The author is a columnist of the JoongAng Ilbo, a chair professor and director of Doheon Academy, Hallym University.

In Korea, prosecutor and judge remain among the most prestigious professions. Often described as the modern equivalent of passing the traditional state examination, the status attached to these positions is immense. Yet that admiration is matched by resentment. Many people who have faced prosecutors or the courts speak of the experience with lingering bitterness.

For decades, these institutions were widely seen as powerful groups that few could challenge. The only force capable of influencing them was politics. Cooperation between political leaders and prosecutors — sometimes called a political-prosecutorial alliance — became one of the most damaging sources of distortion in Korean politics during the 39 years since democratization.

Kang Man-soo, a former finance minister who served under the administration of President Lee Myung-bak, wrote a memoir-like novel titled "Final Statement" in 2025. After the government changed, Kang became the target of a sweeping investigation. What began as one probe soon expanded into a broader investigation into unrelated matters.

According to his account, investigators scrutinized every detail of his life. He described spending six months in a detention cell roughly the size of 1.5 pyeong (about 53 square feet), where lights remained on around the clock and surveillance cameras were constantly running. Human rights, he wrote, seemed like abstract ideas discussed only in universities.

Kang later wrote that prosecutors could "create something out of nothing" and that the constitution lay "beneath their feet." After serving four years and eight months in prison, he presented those remarks as a reflection on his experience.

Prosecutors skilled in expanding investigations and manipulating evidence, along with judges who tolerated political-prosecutorial cooperation, continued to live comfortably even after administrations changed. Recently, however, the political climate has shifted.

Jung Chung-rae, the leader of the ruling Democratic Party, declared that prosecutors who fabricated evidence would be sent to prison. For many people who believe they were treated unfairly by prosecutors or judges, such statements may bring a sense of relief.

President Lee Jae Myung also referred to alleged manipulation of the case involving the Ssangbangwool Group chairman and remittances to North Korea while approving the so-called three judicial reform bills. The idea that powerful judges and prosecutors could face prison has drawn considerable public attention across Korean politics.

Yet the relief may be short-lived. Critics argue that the unintended consequences of the three laws will ultimately be borne by the public. The crime of distorting the law and the amendment to the Constitutional Court Act, both of which took effect at midnight on Thursday, could open the door to an unprecedented wave of litigation.

Instead of protecting citizens' legal rights, opponents say, the reforms risk creating a litigation crisis that overwhelms the judicial system. At the same time, they claim the judiciary's ability to check political power has been significantly weakened.

The current administration, which has itself faced intense prosecutorial investigations under the previous government of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, appears determined to escape similar scrutiny. The result, critics argue, is a reform that strengthens political power while leaving citizens to deal with the consequences.

The new crime of distorting the law places even conscientious prosecutors and judges in the potential crosshairs of lawsuits and complaints. Korea already ranks among the leaders in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in terms of civil and criminal litigation.

According to 2025 statistics, Korea recorded about 6.91 million cases, compared to 3.5 million in Japan and about 900,000 in ...