Shattered by Jung's attack and terrified of what Joong-gu will do to him once he is released from prison, Ja-Sung begs Chief Kang to reassign him and let him disappear.

Chief Kang refuses to keep his promise and destroys Ja-Sung's police profile to force him to continue to work for Goldmoon.

"[14] Los Angeles Times wrote that "writer-director Park Hoon-jung tells this twisty story of internecine warfare within a Korean corporate crime syndicate with patience, elegance and no small amount of bloodshed.

"[15] Salon said that "the rewards come from a satisfying plot, distinctive characters and a series of memorable showpieces, and Park handles all three demands well," and "no one in American movies has made a crime opera this good in years.

"[16] Film Business Asia praised it as "the best played and most gripping Korean gangster movie since Yoo Ha's A Dirty Carnival.

[...] not only showcases three of South Korea's best actors at the top of their game but also manages to sustain its 2 and a half-hour running time on sheer character drama rather than action or violence.

"[18] Linda Barnard from Thestar.com gave it 2 stars out of 4, writing "South Korean gangster film New World tries to expand the genre with nods to The Godfather but can't escape the over-the-top acting, expansive violence and overdone story typical of Seoul-made crime dramas.

"[19] Slant Magazine also gave it a negative review, stating "Bestowed with a somewhat novel twist, Park Hoon-jung's New World employs the good-guy/bad-guy power dynamic of the typical cop-gangster flick and treats it as the primary source of the story's intrigue.

But the mole-imbedded gang war at the heart of this film plays out less like an organic round of Go between cops and criminals than the elaborate scheme of one character operating like a sadistic Creator and wreaking havoc in the lives of his ants.