President Donald Trump welcomed South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to the White House on Monday, hours after posting on social media that the U.S. might reconsider doing business with South Korea, citing concerns over recent events in the country.
In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote, “WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOUTH KOREA? Seems like a Purge or Revolution. We can’t have that and do business there.”
Trump later told reporters he had “heard that there were raids on churches over the last few days, very vicious raids on churches by the new government in South Korea,” though he admitted, “I don’t know if it’s true or not.”
The remarks appeared to reference a corruption investigation involving South Korea’s Unification Church and a raid tied to the martial law controversy under Lee’s predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol.
Once in the Oval Office, however, Trump softened his tone, calling the raids a “misunderstanding” and expressing warmth toward South Korea, per The Washington Post.
“I feel very warmly toward South Korea,” Trump said, congratulating Lee on his election victory in June following Yoon’s impeachment.
Trump also expressed hope to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “in the appropriate future,” possibly this year, though Kim has not responded to Trump’s overtures.
Lee, a liberal former governor, now in his first three months as president, praised Trump’s redecorated Oval Office, his global peacemaking efforts, and the Dow Jones’ recent high.
Joking that Trump should build a Trump Tower in North Korea and play golf with Kim, Lee said, “I hope you can bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, the only divided nation in the world, so that you can meet with Kim Jong Un, build a Trump World (real-estate complex) in North Korea so that I can play golf there, and so that you can truly play a role as a world-historical peacemaker.”
The meeting followed a July trade deal framework that set a 15% tariff rate for South Korea, matching the EU and Japan, down from Trump’s initial 25% threat. Lee, who calls himself a foreign policy “pragmatist,” emphasized cooperation with the U.S., including potential shipbuilding partnerships and $350 billion in South Korean investments in American businesses.
After the meeting, Lee attended a business forum with U.S. and South Korean CEOs, including representatives from Boeing, Nvidia, and General Motors. Sources indicated Korean Air might announce an order for roughly 100 Boeing aircraft.
Lee, navigating ties with both the U.S. and China, aims to balance Seoul’s security alliance with Washington while improving relations with Beijing.
“I will crawl between his legs if necessary, if that’s what I have to do for my people,” Lee said of Trump in June, adding, “But I am not a pushover either,” reported The Washington Post. South Korean public opinion, increasingly critical of China, and Trump’s push for allies to counter Beijing’s rise complicate Lee’s approach.
Both leaders share personal experiences, including surviving assassination attempts last year — Lee was stabbed in the neck—and facing legal challenges that boosted their political careers. They discussed these during their first call in June, agreeing to play golf together in the future. Lee’s office noted the meeting’s positive mood made a joint statement unnecessary.
Trump is expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea from October 30 to November 1, while Lee will visit a Philadelphia shipyard owned by South Korea’s Hanwha Group on Tuesday to highlight investment plans.
