In this episode of The Korea Pro Podcast, Jeongmin, John and Joon Ha examine how South Korea is being pulled deeper into the U.S.-China confrontation just as it prepares to host both Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the Gyeongju APEC summit.

They begin with Beijing’s unprecedented sanctions on five U.S.-linked Hanwha Ocean affiliates — a signal that China’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law is now targeting South Korean firms for cooperating with Washington.

Next, they turn to Seoul’s crisis diplomacy in Cambodia and Samsung Electronics’ record-breaking third-quarter profit, discussing how the company’s AI-driven recovery exposes the limits of South Korea’s