AJU PRESS - ASIA NEWS HUB

Journalist

Kim Dae-sik swatchsjp@ajunews.com

[[K-Pop]] Rapper PSY under police investigation over alleged proxy receipt of prescription drugs SEOUL, August 28 (AJP) - South Korean rapper PSY, well known for his global hit song "Gangnam Style," is under police investigation on suspicion of violating medical laws by allegedly receiving prescription-only psychotropic drugs through a proxy, authorities confirmed Thursday. According to the Seodaemun Police Station in Seoul, the 47-year-old K-pop star and a university hospital professor are being investigated following a complaint that accused them of breaching medical regulations. Police are also looking into whether PSY's manager collected the medication on his behalf. Investigators suspect that since 2022, PSY has obtained prescriptions for Xanax and Stilnox, both classified as psychotropic drugs for treating anxiety and sleep disorders, from a Seoul university hospital without in-person consultations and had them picked up by his manager. The police recently raided the hospital to secure related medical records. Under South Korean law, such drugs must be prescribed after face-to-face consultations, and patients are required to collect them in person. Proxy receipt is only permitted in limited cases, such as by a family member or caregiver. Temporary rules during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed phone prescriptions and proxy collection beginning in February 2020, but those measures were rolled back in November 2021. In a statement released through his agency, Pnation, PSY admitted fault in allowing a third party to collect prescription sleeping pills on his behalf. "The proxy collection of prescription sleeping pills was clearly a mistake and negligence. We are sorry," the statement said. The gaency added that PSY has long suffered from chronic sleep disorders and has taken sleeping pills only under medical supervision at prescribed dosages. "There was no proxy prescription," the agency stressed. "However, there were cases where sleeping pills were collected by a third party, and the police are currently investigating. We sincerely apologize once again for causing concern." 2025-08-28 13:36:24
KAIST and Princeton University launch Net-Zero Korea project SEOUL, August 27 (AJP) - South Korea's prestigious research institute, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST), and Princeton University have launched a joint initiative called Net-Zero Korea, aimed at helping South Korea accelerate its transition to carbon neutrality. The project was announced on August 27 at the World Climate Industry Expo in Busan. It will be led by Professor Jeon Hae-won at KAIST's Graduate School of Green Growth and Sustainable Development, in partnership with Princeton's Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. Funded through seed money from Google, the collaboration will run for three years. The goal is to create a detailed roadmap that can guide South Korea's climate and energy policies. The research builds on Princeton's "Net-Zero America" study, published in 2021, which outlined practical pathways for the United States to reach net-zero emissions. By combining Princeton's methods with KAIST's modeling expertise, the project will adapt the framework to South Korea's industrial and economic conditions. Net-Zero Korea will use energy system modeling, a tool that simulates how energy supply and demand might change under different policies. These models can show the costs, benefits, and side effects of shifting away from fossil fuels toward clean energy. KAIST will add its experience with integrated assessment models, which link energy choices to broader issues such as land use, trade, health, and economic growth. The project will also produce highly detailed visualizations of how South Korea's energy and industrial systems could evolve. The analysis will cover land use changes, capital investment needs, job creation, and the health effects of air pollution. A key feature of the work is the development of an open-source optimization model that incorporates international trade. For a country like South Korea, where exports and imports drive the economy, trade has a direct impact on how realistic different climate policies may be. Professor Wei Peng of Princeton said, "By combining KAIST's world-class expertise in integrated assessment modeling with Princeton’s macro-energy modeling, we can develop tools that will be useful not just for South Korea but also for other trade-dependent economies around the world." Antonia Gawel, Director of Partnerships at Google, said, "We are delighted to support this important project between KAIST and Princeton University. It also aligns with Google's own goal of achieving net-zero emissions across our supply chain by 2030." Professor Jeon Hae-won of KAIST noted, "Through this collaboration with Princeton University, which has led pioneering net-zero research, we hope to provide a strong scientific foundation for South Korea’s carbon neutrality and sustainable energy future." KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung added, "It is meaningful that KAIST, as South Korea's leading research institution, is partnering with Princeton University to create a science-based policy support system for climate crisis response. This cooperation will contribute not only to South Korea’s net-zero transition but also to the global effort to address climate change." 2025-08-27 14:11:03
Seoul brushes off Trump's call for ownership of Pyeongtaek base land SEOUL, August 27 (AJP) - President Donald Trump startled Seoul Tuesday by suggesting the United States should own the land currently occupied by Camp Humphreys, the massive United States military base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, that serves as the largest overseas American installation. During his summit with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the White House on August 25, Trump said, "Maybe one of the things I'd like to do is ask them to give us ownership of the land while we have the big fort. You know we spent a lot of money building a fort, and there was a contribution made by South Korea. But I would like to see if we could get rid of the lease and get ownership of the land where we have a massive military base." The remarks were the first time a U.S. president has publicly raised the idea of securing land title to a base site in South Korea. Camp Humphreys, about 60 kilometers south of Seoul, is the headquarters for U.S. Forces Korea and the most visible symbol of the alliance. National Security Director Wi Sung-rak stressed that bases are "granted, not transferred." He underlined that when the land is no longer needed, it must be returned under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). Defense Minister Ahn Kyu-baek told lawmakers on August 26 that any talk of a handover was "impossible in the real world," calling Trump’s language a mischaracterization of the arrangement. "We are only allowing temporary use, and the land must be returned," Ahn said. The American presence dates back to September 1945, when U.S. forces landed in Incheon after Japan's surrender. Around 70,000 troops were deployed south of the 38th parallel before most pulled out in 1948. The Korean War in 1950 brought them back, and they have remained ever since under the 1953 Korea-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty. For decades, the centerpiece was Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul, which housed U.S. Forces Korea headquarters from the 1950s. Its location in the heart of the capital fueled debate over sovereignty and city planning, eventually leading to a 2004 relocation deal. Camp Humphreys opened as the new headquarters in 2018, sprawling across more than 14 million square meters. It now anchors U.S. strategy in the Indo-Pacific and is often described as the largest American overseas base. In total, South Korea provides 62 facilities for U.S. use, including Osan Air Base, Camp Casey, and Kunsan Air Base. Under SOFA, South Korea retains ownership of the land and grants it to the U.S. free of charge. Facilities must be returned when no longer required. The U.S. bears operating costs, but Seoul contributes through the Special Measures Agreement, which covers local labor, construction, and support services. That contribution is estimated at about 1.5 trillion won a year. At the end of World War II, U.S. troop numbers in South Korea peaked at about 70,000. Today, roughly 28,500 are stationed across the peninsula, giving South Korea the third-largest American military presence after Germany and Japan. 2025-08-27 13:28:22
KAIST creates AI capable of detecting defects in smart factories with frequent machine replacements SEOUL, August 26 (AJP) - Researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) have developed an artificial intelligence system that can keep detecting defective products in smart factories even when machines are replaced or production conditions change. The breakthrough solves a long-standing weakness in factory AI systems, which often fail when equipment or operating environments are altered. The research team, led by Professor Lee Jae-gil of KAIST's School of Computing, announced the results on August 26. The new method improves accuracy by up to 9.42 percent compared with existing approaches. The findings were presented earlier this month at KDD 2025, the world's leading academic conference on artificial intelligence and data science. In modern smart factories, sensors collect streams of data on things like machine vibration, temperature, pressure, or power use. This kind of information is called time-series data because it is recorded continuously over time. AI models trained on this data can spot signs of faulty production early. However, if a company switches to new machines or changes a production line, the data patterns change, and the AI accuracy drops sharply. In some cases, even the types of defects change. For example, in semiconductor manufacturing, one line might mostly produce circular defects, while another line may show more scratch defects. Lee’s team tackled this problem by developing time-series domain adaptation technology. In simple terms, this allows an AI model trained in one environment to keep working in another environment without being retrained. Normally, retraining requires a huge amount of time and cost because humans must label thousands of examples of defective and non-defective products. The new method avoids that step. The system works by breaking down sensor data into three parts: trend, which shows long-term changes like gradual heating; detrend, which shows short-term fluctuations such as sudden machine shakes; and frequency, which shows repeating cycles like the rotation of a motor. Looking at all three together allows the AI to understand whether changes in the data are normal or signs of trouble, much like a doctor checking pulse, temperature, and blood pressure together when diagnosing a patient. The researchers call their approach "TA4LS," short for Time-series domain Adaptation for mitigating Label Shifts. A label in AI means the category attached to data, such as whether a product is good or defective. A label shift happens when the balance of categories changes. For example, one type of defect might become much more common than another after equipment is changed. TA4LS automatically compares the predictions made by the old AI model with the patterns in the new data and adjusts the results to match the new conditions. A major advantage of the system is that it works like a plug-in module. Companies do not need to rebuild their AI from scratch. They can simply add this method to their existing systems, making it cheaper and easier to maintain. In experiments using four benchmark datasets that represent different kinds of sensor changes, the KAIST team achieved up to 9.42 percent higher accuracy than existing methods. The system was especially effective when defect patterns shifted significantly, proving that it could adapt itself without extra training. "This technology addresses one of the biggest obstacles to applying AI in manufacturing, which is the need to retrain models every time processes change," said Lee Jae-gil. "Once put into practice, it can reduce operating costs and improve defect detection rates, greatly supporting the wider adoption of smart factories." The study's first author is doctoral student Na Ji-hye. Doctoral student Nam Young-eun and LG AI researcher Kang Jun-hyuk also contributed. The work was supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Institute of Information and Communications Technology Planning and Evaluation as part of South Korea’s software computing technology development program. The researchers believe the technology could also be used in other fields that rely on sensor data. In healthcare, it could ensure that wearable devices provide accurate monitoring even if the device model changes. In smart cities, it could keep services stable when sensors are replaced or when environments shift. By lowering the costs of maintaining AI, the approach could make adoption easier across many industries. 2025-08-26 17:16:33
President Lee eases Trump's pre-summit doubts after sharp remarks on South Korea SEOUL, August 26 (AJP) - Hours before his first summit with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, United States President Donald Trump unsettled Seoul on Monday (local time) with blunt social media remarks about the political situation in South Korea. Posting on American social media platform Truth Social about two and a half hours before the meeting in Washington, Trump wrote, "WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOUTH KOREA? Seems like a Purge or Revolution. We can’t have that and do business there. I am seeing the new President today at the White House." Minutes before the two leaders met, he added to the tension during a signing ceremony, saying he had heard South Korea's government had "raided churches" and "collected information at our bases." The comments rattled Lee's delegation. Aides worried Trump was signaling he might use the Oval Office session to press the new president on domestic affairs. When the two leaders sat down with reporters present, Trump returned to the subject. He said he had been told there were church raids in South Korea, and "If true, that would be unfortunate." Lee responded directly. He explained that a special prosecutor appointed by South Korea's National Assembly was handling investigations related to former president Yoon Suk Yeol, and that no U.S. military facilities were searched. "The prosecutors were only checking South Korean systems inside bases," Lee said. Trump quickly shifted tone. "I think it is a misunderstanding," he replied, adding that he was "convinced it was an error" after hearing Lee's explanation. The tense prelude gave way to a friendlier atmosphere once the summit began. The Oval Office session proceeded without further dispute. The raids that caught Trump’s attention are part of a wide-ranging probe by a special prosecutor into alleged abuse of power under Yoon’s administration. In July, investigators searched the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, tied to claims that senior military officials lobbied religious and political contacts to avoid responsibility after the death of a young Marine. The probe also included searches at Far East Broadcasting Company and parts of Osan Air Base. Officials said the base searches were limited to South Korean-controlled areas. The investigation traces back to the 2023 death of Marine Corporal Chae Su-geun, who drowned during a flood rescue mission after allegedly being sent out without proper safety equipment or procedures. His death sparked public anger, accusations of negligence and a cover-up, and the appointment of the special prosecutor now at the center of Trump’s remarks. 2025-08-26 10:53:32
Lee and Ishiba share hometown dishes at Tokyo dinner while emphasizing cooperation SEOUL, August 24 (AJP) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru shared hometown dishes at a dinner in Tokyo on Saturday, shortly after their summit, underscoring a cooperative tone, South Korea's Presidential Office said Sunday. National Security Director Wi Seong-rak said on August 24 that the meal was held in a friendly atmosphere at the prime minister’s residence. The leaders were joined by their spouses. From South Korea, Wi and Presidential Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom attended. From Japan, Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tachibana Keiichiro were present. The menu paired specialties from both leaders' home regions. The table featured "Ishiba-style" curry, Andong jjimdak, a traditional Korean menu with chicken, glass noodles, and vegetables simmered in a soy sauce-based stew-like sauce, Andong soju, and beer from Tottori Prefecture. The courses also included sake, Korean-style grilled eel with kimchi garnish, and white peaches from Okayama, reflecting President Lee’s preference for peaches. Wi said the selection of Andong soju and Tottori beer appeared intended to emphasize cooperation and reconciliation. During the meal, Ishiba said he ate curry often during his college years. Lee replied, "I can picture a young Prime Minister Ishiba eating curry while listening to the Japanese girl group Candies." Lee added, "Because Prime Minister Ishiba likes Korean ramen, I tried to bring every ramen on the market, but I gave up because of the volume." Ishiba told Lee he had read the Japanese translation of Lee's autobiographical essay "I Came This Far Because I Had That Dream" and asked him to sign it. The leaders also spoke while looking into photos of Andong sites, including Hahoe Village, Dosan Seowon, and Wolyeonggyo. The conversation turned to political life and public communication. Presidential spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung said in a statement that both leaders noted that they were not mainstream politicians, yet rose to office after setbacks. Ishiba said, "I cannot sleep because I am replying late into the night to messages people send." Lee responded, "I am also busy sending messages, but I mostly send texts to instruct people to work." Ishiba noted that during the Edo period, the Joseon Tongsinsa played an important role. The official envoy missions were sent by the Joseon Dynasty court to Japan during the Edo period, active mainly from 1607 to 1811, to maintain peace, resume trade, and promote cultural exchange. Lee emphasized the value of shuttle diplomacy. After dinner, the two couples moved with only interpreters to a tatami room and talked for about 30 minutes over an after-dinner drink. Wi also described how the joint press document, released after the two leaders' summit meetings, was produced. He said initial coordination did not include a joint text because of the tight timetable. After reviewing the plan, President Lee directed aides to pursue a joint document with Japan, and the two sides agreed to and released a joint statement. Wi added that full joint declarations are typically issued during state visits, such as the 1998 Kim Dae Jung and Obuchi declaration or the 2003 Roh Moo Hyun and Koizumi declaration, and that this trip was a working visit. The joint statement, the first one that was issued after a South Korea-Japan summit in 17 years, set clear priorities. It pledged expanded cooperation in future industries such as hydrogen and artificial intelligence and launched a bilateral consultative body to address shared social challenges including low birth rates, aging populations, metropolitan area concentration, agriculture, and disaster safety. On security, it reaffirmed complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, close coordination on North Korea policy, continued enforcement of United Nations Security Council sanctions, and the need to respond together to deepening Russia-North Korea military ties. It also called for the resumption of shuttle diplomacy, more youth exchanges through working holiday programs, and cooperation on the APEC summit in Gyeongju in October and the Korea-Japan-China leaders' meeting to be chaired by Japan. The document recorded Prime Minister Ishiba’s statement that his cabinet inherits prior positions on historical recognition, including the 1998 Kim Dae Jung and Obuchi declaration. 2025-08-24 17:58:29
South Korean troops fire warning shots as North Korean soldiers cross MDL SEOUL, August 24 (AJP) - South Korean troops fired warning shots after more than 30 North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on Aug. 19, the United Nations Command (UNC) confirmed Sunday. The MDL, drawn under the 1953 armistice, runs through the center of the DMZ, a 250-kilometer-long buffer separating the two Koreas. Unauthorized crossings are unusual and are considered serious violations of the armistice. According to the UNC, the North Korean soldiers had been carrying out construction and repair work when they stepped across the line. South Korean forces issued repeated loudspeaker warnings but received no response, leading them to fire warning shots. The soldiers then moved back to the northern side. The UNC said its Military Armistice Commission began an investigation immediately after the incident. It noted that North Korea had notified the command in advance about its work in the zone, describing such prior communication as "valuable in reducing the risk of misunderstandings and unintended incidents." The UNC added that it remains prepared to talk with the North about this and other issues. The statement came after North Korea accused South Korea of a "dangerous provocation," claiming troops fired more than 10 rounds from a 12.7-millimeter machine gun at its soldiers near the border. Ko Jeong-chol, deputy chief of the North’s General Staff, urged the South to "immediately stop reckless military actions that could trigger clashes along the southern border." South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that warning shots were fired, saying that around 3 p.m. on August 19, North Korean soldiers crossed the MDL in the central sector before returning north. 2025-08-24 15:45:00
Lee heads to Washington with clear agenda on tariffs, security and nuclear fuel pact talks SEOUL, August 24 (AJP) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung left Japan on August 24 after his summit with Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and is now en route to Washington for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday. According to South Korean diplomatic sources on August 23, Seoul and Washington are drafting a joint statement that would say the two sides will begin discussions and technical studies on amending the bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement. The draft text would state that these talks will include South Korea's request to discuss the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. Until the leaders issue the statement or say it on the record, this remains unconfirmed. The summit's confirmed and likely agenda items are as follows. The leaders will review the tariff deal outlined in late July. They will discuss broader economic coordination. Alliance issues are on the table, including the strategic flexibility of U.S. military forces in South Korea. Ministers prepared these topics in Washington this week. Foreign Minister Cho-hyun and Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Energy Secretary Chris Wright on August 22. Background on the nuclear file is straightforward. The current U.S.–ROK nuclear cooperation agreement was revised in 2015 and runs until 2035. Under this agreement, South Korea needs U.S. consent even to enrich uranium below twenty percent. South Korea is not allowed to reprocess spent nuclear fuel. Limited research on pyroprocessing, a recycling method that does not produce weapons usable material, is permitted. These restrictions do not apply in the U.S.–Japan arrangement. South Korea's goal is to complete the nuclear fuel cycle at home. Seoul argues that gaining latitude on enrichment and reprocessing would secure fuel supply for its reactor exports, reduce pressure on interim storage that is nearing capacity, and strengthen resilience as the country faces North Korea's nuclear threat. Washington has been cautious because reprocessing can produce plutonium that could be diverted to weapons. That concern sits at the core of U.S. nonproliferation policy. Even if the two presidents announce the start of talks, it is not yet clear how far the U.S. will go toward endorsing South Korea's position. South Korean officials say they have worked to create room for progress at leader level. "We have worked to amend the agreement, and we intend to make progress through this summit," South Korea's National Security Director Wi Seong-rak told reporters before the trip. Lee's U.S. itinerary includes a business roundtable, a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and a visit to Philadelphia's Philly Shipyard on Tuesday before returning home. 2025-08-24 14:57:20
S. Korea and Japan put hydrogen and AI cooperation at center of first joint statement in 17 years SEOUL, August 24 (AJP) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru wrapped up their Tokyo summit on August 23 with a joint statement, the first released by the two neighbors in 17 years. The document commits both governments to closer coordination on security and to new cooperation in future industries, with hydrogen and artificial intelligence singled out as priority fields. The talks at the prime minister's office ran longer than planned, beginning at 4:55 p.m. (0755 GMT) and totaling 113 minutes. A 62-minute small group session was followed by a 51-minute expanded meeting. The leaders agreed to launch a bilateral consultative body to tackle shared challenges that cut across economics and society, including low birth rates, aging populations, metropolitan area concentration, agriculture, and disaster safety management. Future industry cooperation anchors the economic track of the agreement. During last year's election campaign, Lee pledged to accelerate South Korea's AI capabilities to lift growth and productivity, deploying advanced models across manufacturing and public services to counter demographic headwinds. Linking that agenda to Japan's strengths in next-generation energy and advanced manufacturing, the two sides placed hydrogen and AI at the heart of their forward-looking partnership. Security coordination featured prominently. Lee and Ishiba reaffirmed their support for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the peaceful resolution of North Korea's nuclear and missile issues through dialogue and diplomacy. They agreed to maintain close policy coordination on North Korea, to work with the international community for thorough enforcement of United Nations Security Council sanctions, and to respond together to the deepening military ties between Russia and North Korea. Both leaders also underscored the importance of strengthening trilateral cooperation with the United States. The summit produced practical follow-ups. The two governments will resume shuttle diplomacy between leaders, expand youth exchanges through working holiday programs, and cooperate to ensure the successful hosting of the APEC summit in Gyeongju in October and the Korea-Japan-China trilateral summit to be chaired by Japan. Lee used his opening remarks in the expanded session to call for steady, pragmatic engagement. "Because our two countries are so close, unnecessary conflicts sometimes occur," he said. "Issues that are difficult to approach should be given sufficient time for reflection, but where we can cooperate, cooperation is what politicians in both countries must pursue." Ishiba welcomed Lee's choice of Japan as his first bilateral destination since taking office, calling it "very reassuring," and said that stronger Japan, South Korea, and United States cooperation is "very important." The joint statement also noted that Ishiba affirmed his government's overall inheritance of prior cabinet positions on historical recognition, including the 1998 Kim Dae-jung and Obuchi declaration, "A New Japan-Republic of Korea Partnership for the Twenty-First Century," which has long been viewed as a foundation for future-oriented cooperation. History still shadows the relationship. South Korea and Japan are close neighbors, yet disputes rooted in Japan's 1910 to 1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula have triggered periodic diplomatic friction. Contentious issues such as compensation for wartime forced labor, the treatment of "comfort women," and Japan-related seafood import questions were not addressed in detail at the summit. The leaders instead focused on areas where progress is possible while acknowledging that sensitive matters require time and careful handling. Lee described the meeting as a fresh start for rebuilding trust and routine leader-level engagement. He proposed that when Ishiba visits South Korea for the next round of shuttle diplomacy, the two meet outside Seoul to underscore a broader, people-to-people approach to ties. 2025-08-24 10:58:14
OPINION: Letter to President Trump - In anticipation of "Great Peace-Maker" (GPM) SEOUL, August 24 (AJP) - Dear President Trump, I hope you will allow me to use the American-style "you" in this letter. There is a saying that comes to mind when I think of your effort to build a new world out of chaos. Willy Brandt, the German chancellor who pioneered East-West détente in Europe, sowed the seeds of German unification and won the Nobel Peace Prize, once said: "Peace is not everything, but without peace, everything is nothing." With wars raging and civilians dying around the world, there is nothing more important than the work of "Great Peace-Making." History has shown us what real peace-making leadership looks like. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who served four terms, allied with the Soviet Union during World War II to defeat Hitler’s Germany and Imperial Japan. He went on to shape the United Nations and the Bretton Woods system, laying the foundations of the postwar order. Otto von Bismarck, Germany’s "Iron Chancellor," unified his country through realpolitik and later steered Europe away from major war through careful balance-of-power diplomacy. I recall that your own grandfather was a German immigrant. At home, you raised the banner of "MAGA," making America great again. Abroad, I believe you have pursued the role of peacemaker. You stepped in to ease military tensions between Thailand and Cambodia, brought the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia to the White House, and even invited President Vladimir Putin to Alaska to try to end the war in Ukraine. China’s Xi Jinping, by contrast, buys cheap Russian energy but offers no real effort at peace. There will be no "pax Sinica." It remains "pax Americana." It is time for you, President Trump, to reshape geopolitics as a true "Great Peace-Maker." Critics such as New York Times columnist Paul Krugman may call you a "tyrant," but I urge you to show what I would call "patchwork diplomacy" on the Korean Peninsula. Nobel laureate François Jacob once wrote of "Evolution and Tinkering" in Science. It is an idea that fits your approach well, responding creatively within limits to bring about new solutions. Tomorrow, on the 25th, you will meet President Lee Jae-myung at the South Korea–U.S. summit in Washington. What, then, is the bond between our two nations? We often use the term "blood alliance." America has been both an occupier and a divider, but also a liberator and protector. The decision at Yalta to divide Korea changed our fate. Yet the U.S. also freed us from Japan and stood with us in the Korean War. Some 36,000 Americans were killed, alongside about 137,000 South Korean soldiers and more than 1 million civilians. Without America, could South Korea have become a top-ten economy and a democracy? Just as the U.S. defended us, we now share America’s interests, values, and prosperity. I also know you have voiced doubts about us, once calling South Korea an "ATM." But our achievements were not handed to us. They were built on sweat and sacrifice. From the ruins of colonial rule, war, and division, we rose again. We sent miners and nurses to Germany, fought alongside U.S. troops in Vietnam, and worked in deserts and on construction projects across the Middle East and Africa. This is how we made what is known as the "Miracle on the Han River." Even today, South Koreans work some of the longest hours among OECD nations. At this week’s summit, you are expected to discuss tariffs, defense cost-sharing, and a new geopolitical framework. As with your dealings with the EU, defense spending of around 3.5 percent and weapons imports could be negotiated. I hope you and President Lee Jae-myung will reach a summit outcome that sets the stage for a new geopolitical order, one that could also strengthen diplomacy with Kim Jong Un and provide leverage toward China. Korea’s mythical emblem, the Samjoko, the three-legged crow, is not unlike your bald eagle. It symbolizes balance and good fortune. In both East and West, the number three is sacred: the Christian Trinity, Korea’s Cheon-Ji-In (Heaven, Earth, and Humanity), and the dialectical idea of synthesis. If you, together with the leaders of North and South Korea, can bring about peace on the peninsula—denuclearization, prosperity, normalization between the U.S. and North Korea—it would crown your role as the Great Peace-Maker. Success would more than justify a Nobel Peace Prize, as it did for Brandt and for Kim Dae-jung. Why not, at this summit, issue a communiqué inviting Kim Jong Un to the APEC summit in Gyeongju this October? Next year’s APEC will be in China, so Xi Jinping will be there. In Gyeongju, you could hold a U.S.–China summit and even bring together the U.S., China, and the two Koreas. After that, imagine visiting Pyongyang for a round of golf with both Korean leaders. The Pyongyang course even has a funnel hole where a hole-in-one is possible. As a real estate developer, you could also propose with North and South Korea the creation of a "Global AI Valley" and perhaps a "Trump Golf Course" inside the DMZ. Such a move would show bold leadership, the kind that overshadows Xi and Putin. I hope this summit will go beyond "small deals" like defense costs and instead embrace the "big deal" of becoming the Great Peace-Maker of the Korean Peninsula. Mr. President, I almost had the chance to meet you. As a journalist at a major daily, I once interviewed Warren Buffett, the "Oracle of Omaha." Later, I was offered the chance to interview you through a senior contact, but your visit was canceled. By coincidence, both you and I have a grandchild named Kai. After seeing Kai speak during the 2024 campaign, I felt certain you would win. I have read "The Art of the Deal," follow your posts on social media, and often click "like." I even published columns predicting your victory. Let me close with one of your favorite sayings: "If you’re going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big." If at this summit you show the world bold and creative diplomacy, you will move beyond those who mock you as a "trader" and stand as a statesman, the kind Kim Yo-jong once described as "a great man who can change the flow of history." Do that, and you will join the ranks of President Lincoln, remembered for embracing his rivals and leading a nation to unity. God bless you and Korea. Sincerely, Dr. Tack Whan Kim President, Institute for Future Policy Studies. National vision strategist, author of more than 20 books including "The U.S.–China Economic Power Struggle and the Future of the Korean Peninsula," former journalist at JoongAng Ilbo, visiting scholar at Georgetown University, and lecturer who has given more than 350 talks at institutions such as the National Assembly and Samsung Electronics. 2025-08-24 09:45:08