South Korean President Yun Seok-Yeol is practicing golf for the first time in eight years in preparation for a future meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump, Yun's office said.
According to South Korean media, Yoon was visiting a golf course on Saturday for a sport his agency said he last played in 2016.
“Many people close to President Trump… [told me] President Yoon and President Trump will have good chemistry,” Yoon said at a press conference Thursday after congratulating President Trump on his victory by phone.
He added that former Trump administration officials and influential Republicans have offered to help build a relationship with the president-elect.
Trump played an estimated 261 rounds of golf during his first term. Washington Post estimates 2021 – or 1 round every 5.6 days.
Analysts say that as President Trump's America First foreign policy plan and his unpredictable style play out in his second term, Mr. Yoon will use his personal friendship with President Trump to improve South Korea's He said he may look for ways to promote national interests.
Yun has already impressed leaders in Washington by performing Don McLean's song “American Pie” at a state dinner with Joe Biden in 2023.
South Korean companies are heavily dependent on trade with the United States, and during President Trump's first term, the two countries were at odds over sharing the cost of the approximately 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War. There was a collision.
As Seoul officials prepare for major economic changes, Yoon on Sunday called for talks between the government and industry in preparation for Trump's return.
Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a Korean affairs expert at King's College London, said Trump and Yoon's similar personalities and outsider approach could help the two get along well. He said that there is a sex.
“I also think that Mr. Yin is generally well-liked by U.S. policymakers. Whoever is advising Mr. Trump on foreign policy, that will help him.”
Bruce Klingner of the Heritage Foundation in Washington agreed that the two countries had the potential to develop a strong relationship, but warned that alone would not be enough to insulate South Korea from negative impacts.
“Many leaders would try to recreate the friendship between Shinzo Abe and President Trump, but there is no evidence that the personal relationship has had any concrete, demonstrable benefits for Japan,” the former CIA analyst said. he added, referring to the assassinated former Japanese prime minister.
He added that Tokyo was treated similarly to South Korea in contentious negotiations over military spending.
