[2025-10-17] Endless News, Elusive Truth

– Reflecting on Tariff Talks and the Cambodia Scandal

There is no shortage of news these days, yet truth remains strangely hard to find. Headlines flash across our screens by the minute, breaking alerts buzz in our pockets all day long — and still, the core of what truly matters stays blurred. Two recent events in particular reveal this tension clearly: Korea’s tariff negotiations with the United States, and the large-scale online fraud and human trafficking scandal in Cambodia. Both expose how uncertain and reactive our government becomes when standing at critical crossroads.

A Defensive Negotiation Without a Shield

The current administration insists that it “blocked higher tariffs” in talks with the U.S., but to the public it feels less like a victory and more like a conditional surrender. Accepting a 15% tariff now, with vague promises of revisiting it later, is not a conclusion — it is a postponement. What’s worse, most citizens have no idea what was truly agreed upon, because no one is explaining it clearly.

The U.S., meanwhile, surrounds negotiations with Section 232 threats, subsidy leverage, and administrative pressure, while Korea continues to offer investment pledges as its primary bargaining chip. One side brings a shield; the other opens its wallet.

The Cambodia Crisis — Why Does Action Always Come After the Fire?

Hundreds of Koreans forced into scam compounds in Cambodia are now being repatriated. Reports include beatings, forced confinement, even death. Only after media attention surged did the government declare travel bans and deploy planes.

But international organizations had warned for years about human trafficking in Southeast Asian “cyber slavery compounds.” Still, our government remains trapped in the pattern of “waiting until the fire spreads before reaching for the hose.”

One Core Problem — No One Explains What They’re Doing

“The government acts, but the people do not understand.”

When citizens do not understand, they distrust. When distrust grows, cooperation dies. And when cooperation dies, a nation fractures into survival mode.

The Gospel Speaks — When the World Shakes, Truth Must Stay Firm

As a pastor, I cannot help but ask:
“What are we truly relying on in times like these?”

No government or policy will ever be perfect. But a society needs at least two things in order to stand:

the assurance that its people will be protected, and
the conviction that truth will eventually prevail.

Scripture says:
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

This is not mere religious comfort.
A society that hides truth becomes fearful;
a society that faces truth finds the strength to rise again.

We don’t preach the Gospel because politics is flawless.
We cling to it because politics is broken — and yet hope remains.

There may be endless news, but truth is still precious.
May we not drown in the noise. May we become people who speak what is real.
For I believe that is one of the greatest gifts Christians can offer to society today.