[The Editors' Verdict]Two Barriers to Overturn in April 2025

Trump's Tariffs and the "December 3 Martial Law"
South Korea Faces Economic and Social Barriers
Rising Again with the "Spirit of April"

There are two poets who come to mind when April arrives. The British poet T.S. Eliot (1888?1965) called April "the cruelest month" in his poem "The Waste Land." Eliot paradoxically described April as cruel because it awakens the frozen earth to bring forth new life, just as lilacs grow from dead land, involving pain and suffering.

While Eliot depicted the devastation and desolation of Europe after World War I, the national poet Shin Dong-yup (1930?1969) sang in a more proactive tone that "April is the month of plowing." "Azaleas bloom brightly covering the rivers and mountains / Until that day comes, April is the month of plowing / Until that day comes, April is the month of rising."

Shin Dong-yup loved the Donghak Peasant Revolution, which stood against harsh tyranny, and the April 19 Revolution, which resisted unjust dictatorship. He wanted to overturn a world of oppression, corruption, distortion, and lies, and sow barley in its place to see a green barley field waving like silk.

April is a season when something hopeful springs up, shaking and awakening the sleeping earth to sprout new shoots. The biting cold winds gradually subside, and the warm sunlight will revive all things more powerfully. Even beyond the poet’s emotions, there arises a passion to overturn the old fields and sow new seeds.

What must we overturn and rise again now? As April opens, two huge barriers stand before us. First, Trump’s tariff barrier. On the 2nd (local time), Trump said regarding the scheduled imposition of reciprocal tariffs, "We will start with all countries." This means universal tariffs will be imposed on all countries, not just some known as the so-called "dirty 15."

Starting immediately on the 3rd, a 25% tariff on all foreign cars imported into the U.S. was announced. Since automobiles are South Korea’s top export item to the U.S., economic damage is inevitable. Although Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun unveiled a 31 trillion won investment package at the White House, there seems to be no room for negotiation at present. Korean companies have embarked on a difficult journey to increase production in the U.S. to reduce tariff shocks while pioneering new sales routes for domestically produced products. It is time to gather national capabilities and wisdom to overturn the Trump-led tariff war and navigate the whirlpool of a new trade order.

Second, we must overcome the "12.3 emergency martial law" barrier. It has been well over a month since the Constitutional Court concluded the impeachment trial arguments against President Yoon Suk-yeol, yet no decision has been made. It is acknowledged that sufficient time was needed to reach a flawless conclusion due to sharply divided opinions between camps. However, with the impeachment case of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo also concluded, there is no longer any reason to delay. Otherwise, distrust and confusion could spread uncontrollably. The Constitutional Court is the last bastion protecting democracy. It must swiftly discern right from wrong. Failure to do so could undermine not only the court’s foundation but also the constitutional order that protects the democratic republic of South Korea.

South Korea is currently enduring difficult times due to distortion and false agitation. But just as life grows and awakens only after death and sleep, April is not a cruel month but a month of resurrection when we must overturn and rise again. In April 2025, a great upheaval began that overturned barriers and changed the world.

Poet Shin Dong-yup cries out again: "Shells, go away / In April, only the core remains / Shells, go away."

Jo Young-chul, Head of Content Editing Team 1

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.