File picture of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol waving a Korean flag
| Photo Credit: via Reuters
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol recently began practising golf, for the first time in eight years, in preparation for future meetings with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Mr. Yoon’s office confirmed on Tuesday (November 12, 2024).
South Korean media said Mr. Yoon visited a golf course on Saturday (November 9, 2024) for a sport his office said he had last played in 2016.
“A lot of people close to President Trump… (told me) President Yoon and Trump will have good chemistry,” Mr. Yoon told a press conference on Thursday (November 7, 2024), after congratulating Mr. Trump by telephone on his win.
Former Trump administration officials and influential Republicans had offered to help build ties with the incoming president, he added.
Analysts said Mr. Yoon may seek to find a way to capitalise on a personal friendship with Mr. Trump to advance Seoul’s interests as Trump’s “America First” foreign policy plans and his unpredictable style play out in his second term.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump mimics a golf swing as music plays after speaking during a campaign rally at Thomas & Mack Center on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
| Photo Credit:
AP
South Korean companies rely heavily on trade with the United States, and during Mr. Trump’s first term, the countries clashed over cost-sharing for the roughly 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea as a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean War.
Officials in Seoul have been working to prepare for significant economic change, while Mr. Yoon called on Sunday for government and industry talks to prepare for Mr. Trump’s return.
The similar personalities and outsider approaches of Mr. Trump and Mr. Yoon may help them get along, said Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a specialist in Korean affairs at King’s College London.
“I also think that Yoon is generally well-liked by policy-makers in the United States, which will help him, whoever advises Trump on foreign policy,” he added.
Bruce Klingner, of the Heritage Foundation in Washington, agreed that the two could develop a strong relationship but warned it might not be sufficient to spare South Korea from negative impacts.
“While many leaders will seek to replicate the friendship that Shinzo Abe had with Mr. Trump, there is no evidence that personal relationship resulted in any tangible, demonstrative benefits for Japan,” the former CIA analyst added, referring to the assassinated former Japanese prime minister.
Tokyo was treated the same as Seoul in contentious talks on military cost-sharing, he added.
Published – November 12, 2024 01:49 pm IST
