The world's attention is focused on the actions of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a powerful figure in Saudi Arabia who visited Korea after three years.
Crown Prince bin Salman, heir to the throne and prime minister, is known as 'Mr. everything' with both power and wealth.
In foreign media, it is also called 'MBS', the English initials of Muhammad bin Salman.
Although not accurately counted, his wealth is known to range from as little as 1,400 trillion won to as much as 2,500 trillion won.
The scale of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (PIF) led by him is 700 trillion won.
In particular, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine led to high oil prices, his status as the world's largest oil producer has grown much greater than three years ago.
According to foreign media reports on the 17th (local time), Crown Prince bin Salman was born on August 31, 1985 to King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his third wife, Fahda bint Pala bin Sultan.
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He is known to have had a quiet childhood with an introverted personality.
In photos of the royal family, he was always on the edge.
The Saudi Arabian royal family has many students studying abroad, especially in the United States, but he studied in Saudi Arabia and studied law at King Saud University in Riyadh.
The 37-year-old young monarch is known for his love of iPhones and PlayStations, as well as playing the video game 'Call of Duty'.
He is also famous for holding shares in domestic game companies NCsoft and Nexon.
Crown Prince bin Salman began to make his presence known on the political stage when he became the youngest defense minister in 2015.
The following year, he rose to power by becoming chairman of the Economic Development Council, which sets policy for Aramco and other state-owned energy companies and determines economic policy.
Crown Prince bin Salman began his succession to the throne in earnest when Prince bin Salman bin Nayef, who was originally first in line for the throne, stepped down as Crown Prince and Minister of the Interior in June 2017.
On the surface, it was a form of voluntary resignation, but it was widely observed that he was pressured to appoint Prince bin Salman, who was the vice-crowned prince (the second heir to the throne) at the time, as crown prince.
Crown Prince bin Salman, who became the first heir to the throne, arrested hundreds of high-ranking figures from the royal family and political and business circles under the pretext of 'fighting corruption'.
This case, which was ostensibly a corruption investigation, is called a 'purge' that made Crown Prince bin Salman the real power in name and reality.
Crown Prince bin Salman, who began to strengthen power, led Saudi Arabia's economic and social reform plan, 'Vision 2030', such as privatization of state-owned assets, reduction of state subsidies, and enhancement of human rights such as allowing women to drive.
Crown Prince bin Salman advocated an unconventional reform policy, claiming to be the young 'enlightened monarch' of the Middle East.
Representative examples include allowing women to enter soccer stadiums and driving cars, operating movie theaters, allowing concerts by foreign singers, and reducing the authority of religious police.
At the same time as receiving attention from around the world for his unconventional reform policies, he was also criticized for his military toughness, such as the civil war in Yemen and the escalation of hostilities with Iran.
Following the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was critical of the royal family, Crown Prince bin Salman was criticized by the international community as a 'dictator' who was brutal against opposition forces.
Khashoggi lived in voluntary exile in the United States and wrote a column criticizing the royal family for the Washington Post (WP).
Meanwhile, Khashoggi went to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey in October 2018 due to problems with marriage documents, where she was killed by Saudi agents.
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has also determined that Crown Prince bin Salman was behind Khashoggi's assassination.
US President Joe Biden criticized the Saudi royal family and even declared that he would make Crown Prince bin Salman an 'outcast'.
However, the situation changed when Russia invaded Ukraine, and President Biden crumbled his ego to meet the crown prince to catch high oil prices.
Although prices have soared and the global economy has entered a recession, Saudi Arabia enjoys many economic benefits thanks to high international oil prices, which is leading to the strengthening of the absolute monarch's economic power.
Although he is already exercising real power, if he inherits the throne soon from his 87-year-old father, Crown Prince bin Salman is expected to reign as the absolute ruler of oil-rich Saudi Arabia for the next 50 years unless there is a major change.
The reason the world pays attention to Crown Prince bin Salman's every move is because he holds onto the future as well as the present.