“King of the world” Trump

“I am the king of the world!”

That was the line director James Cameron famously shouted, roaring with triumph as he accepted the Academy Award for Best Director in 1998. Watching the launch video of the so-called “Peace Committee” unveiled on the 22nd (local time) in Davos, that moment came to mind. It made me wonder whether U.S. President Donald Trump, having given up on the Nobel Peace Prize, now seeks to become the “king of the world” instead.

Dismissing this as a mere vanity-driven spectacle would be a mistake. The Peace Committee harbors far more serious dangers, as it appears designed to neutralize the United Nations and allow Trump to manipulate international politics at will.

The committee was originally proposed last year, when Trump announced his Gaza peace plan, as a temporary body for postwar reconstruction. Suddenly, however, its scope was expanded into an organization claiming authority over international conflicts more broadly, and invitations to join were sent to some 60 countries worldwide. Even Russia and Belarus were invited, prompting many European nations to refuse or suspend participation.

Although presented as a committee, the body resembles a monarchy ruled by a single man. Trump, designated as chairman for life, is the only individual empowered to veto its decisions. The implication is clear: even after leaving the U.S. presidency, he intends to remain “king of the world” until his death.

Given that Trump has already declared he no longer feels obligated to pursue peace after failing to win the Nobel Prize, it is likely that what he seeks through this peace-branded international body is personal gain. Since returning to the White House, he has repeatedly leveraged the U.S. presidency to accumulate private wealth. He reportedly secured resort permits from Vietnam in exchange for tariff negotiations, and from Saudi Arabia in return for approving exports of advanced AI chips. When he threatened Venezuela with military action, he cited narcotics—but after the invasion, he openly admitted that oil was the real objective. At the Peace Committee launch event, his son-in-law Jared Kushner unveiled what sounded like a real-estate developer’s plan to rebuild the devastated Gaza Strip into a futuristic city.

South Korea, which has already committed massive investments in the United States, cannot afford to feel safe either. According to Nihon Keizai Shimbun, a major Japanese bank plans to donate 400 million yen (about 3.7 billion won) to the U.S. government at Washington’s request, ostensibly for celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of America’s founding. The funds could well be used to construct a triumphal-arch-style monument—modeled on the Arc de Triomphe—that Trump reportedly wants.

Trump’s close aide Stephen Miller has justified ambitions toward Greenland by declaring that “this is a world ruled by force, power, and strength.” There are voices in Korea that echo this view. But if the international community accepts it as such, Trump’s notion of a “G2”—in which only the United States and China matter—would effectively require all other countries to surrender their sovereignty. Unless middle powers band together, as proposed by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, they risk ending up “on the menu.” Korea, which has already experienced having its fate dictated by great powers, cannot endorse such an international order. The wisest course is to refuse participation in Trump’s Peace Committee and, at most, stall by saying the matter is “under review.”

That said, there is also value in exploiting Trumpism’s mantra—“pay for your own security”—to advance practical goals such as reclaiming wartime operational control or introducing nuclear-powered submarines. But acquiescing to a self-interested individual’s “global dictatorship” would ultimately harm national interests. Offering Trump a golden crown may have been unavoidable—but Korea must not help him truly become king of the world.