Michael Sim, former professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, predicted that the US is likely to "take advantage of the weaknesses of the Lee Jae-myung administration and strike hard" during the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and the South Korean delegation in Washington. / YouTube channel capture.

A pessimistic outlook from an expert suggests that the U.S. is likely to exploit the weaknesses of the Lee Jae-myung administration, which fails to grasp the gravity of the situation, and "strike hard."

Michael Sim (Korean name: Shim Jeong-hwan), former professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, expressed deep concern regarding the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and the South Korean delegation in Washington, stating, "Now that the U.S. has uncovered everything, there's nothing left but to be broken."

During his personal YouTube broadcast, "Understanding the U.S. and the International Community," on the 29th, Dr. Michael Sim meticulously analyzed the conversation between President Trump and Lee Jae-myung. He particularly noted President Trump's comment, "Maybe I'm not," following the widely known remark "deranged Jack Smith," suggesting it might not have been a joke.

Special Counsel Jack Smith is a far-left Democratic special counsel who, allegedly instigated by the Biden administration, elected amid suspicions of election fraud, has been accused of provoking controversy through excessive coercive investigations against President Trump. This includes characterizing the January 6th incident as insurrection, falsely accusing Trump of violating the Patriot Act, and raiding Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. He is considered responsible for the biased investigation that has ignited strong backlash from conservatives throughout the Biden administration, with the proposition of a fair and balanced investigation being severely criticized as "thrown to the dogs."

The comparison of South Korea's current domestic special counsel, who is facing constant human rights violation allegations while investigating former President Yoon Suk-yeol, to Jack Smith, suggests a strong interpretation that President Trump accurately perceives the current situation in South Korea and is preparing for action. However, it is pointed out that the Lee Jae-myung administration is completely unable to grasp the situation.

Dr. Sim provided a detailed analysis of the dialogue exchanged during the meeting. He explained, "When the interpreter explained the background of the special counsel's raid on radar facilities within a U.S. military base, President Trump interrupted and said, 'deranged Smith.'" He further elaborated on the nuance of the word as understood in the U.S., stating, "'Deranged' refers to the actions of a mentally ill person who commits acts like a madman, such as brutally assaulting an innocent pedestrian to steal money."

He then expressed his regret, saying, "Although the people around President Trump and the American press corps burst into laughter at his remarks, Lee Jae-myung and the South Korean side laughed without understanding the meaning." He questioned, "How many people in South Korea could truly understand this? One needs to be well-versed in U.S. current affairs to know who Jack Smith is and what 'deranged' means."

He then highlighted President Trump's direct criticism of the South Korean situation, noting that Trump said, "They took him from our country." He emphasized Dr. Sim's point that after saying, "I'm only kidding," President Trump immediately followed up with, "Maybe I'm not." Dr. Sim stressed, "This statement suggests that these actions by the special counsel could be the work of truly insane individuals."

A parody of 'deranged Jack.' Online capture. Regarding this, Dr. Michael Sim stated, "When President Trump mentioned Jack Smith, the Vice President, Secretary of State, and the American press corps burst into laughter, but Lee Jae-myung and the South Korean side, unable to understand the meaning, either intentionally or unintentionally, laughed foolishly and let the moment pass." He added, "What President Trump was conveying by saying this is that he is well aware of how crazily things are going in South Korea, indirectly expressing his understanding."

He evaluated this incident by saying, "This meeting between Lee Jae-myung and President Trump clearly demonstrates how disastrously the traditional alliance between South Korea and the United States has been damaged." He lamented, "It was an incident where the U.S. President, with someone claiming to be South Korea's representative sitting before him, didn't just scold but utterly crushed them. Yet, no South Korean news outlet reported it as anything other than a very successful meeting."

Dr. Sim described the leftward shift of South Korea's mainstream media as akin to "Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS)," suggesting, "This is the influence of American liberal media reaching that far." In layman's terms, it can be interpreted as "everything is Trump's fault." He defined it as a bizarre, mentally deranged phenomenon where all mistakes are attributed to Trump. He diagnosed the condition as TDS, stating, "There are abnormal individuals who exhibit a crazy reaction whenever Trump is mentioned. These are people who, brainwashed by the Democratic Party and the trash media in the U.S., tremble and curse Trump unconditionally. This phenomenon is TDS."

He did not shy away from offering sharp criticism to the public, who are greatly mistaken in believing that Lee Jae-myung has achieved results. He directly pointed out, "This is what happens when you elect the wrong representative." He continued, "While election fraud may have played a role, it cannot be solely attributed to election fraud. This is because, in my view, about a third of the public supports Lee Jae-myung." He admonished, "The claims of Lee Jae-myung's popularity being 50-60% are all lies. In my opinion, it's probably around 25-30%. We Koreans need to wake up."

Dr. Sim continued his sharp critique by comparing South Korea's past national standing with its current situation. Comparing the positive international evaluations during the eras of founding President Syngman Rhee and President Park Chung-hee, he stated, "In the past, South Korea elevated its national prestige through excellent diplomacy and instilled an image of a diligent nation worldwide. Now that they have become wealthy, an unusual individual has seized power and is ruining the country, going around spreading lies in the name of investing in the U.S. President Trump clearly sees through their intentions."

By Heo Gyeom, reporter