Lee dodges 'Zelensky moment' at first White House meeting

Maroosha Muzaffar, The Independent

South Korean president Lee Jae Myung said his aides had worried about a potential "Zelensky moment" ahead of his first White House meeting with Donald Trump. Trump surprisingly cornered Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House earlier this year. But Lee said his encounter with the president went well "beyond my expectations" and credited this to having read Trump's book, The Art of the Deal. Trump had fuelled tensions ahead of the summit by casting doubt about South Korea's democracy in a post on social media.

"WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOUTH KOREA?" he wrote and suggested there was a "Purge or Revolution", a remark widely interpreted as alluding to the prosecution of former president Yoon Suk Yeol for his failed attempt to declare martial law last December.

"We can't have that and do business there. I am seeing the new President today at the White House. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!" Trump also told reporters that he had "heard bad things" about the political situation in South Korea. Lee, speaking at an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said he was confident going into the meeting with Trump that he "would not face that kind of a situation", referring to what the Ukrainian leader had to endure from the US president and his vice president JD Vance.

"That's because I had read President Trump's book The Art of the Deal," Lee said. The Art of the Deal is a memoir and self-help book published in 1987. Co-written with the journalist Tony Schwartz, it blends Trump's own stories with practical guidance on negotiation, business strategy, and deal-making.

The South Korean leader said his discussions with Trump centred on how to "modernise our bilateral alliance to be more reciprocal and future-oriented in line with the changing security landscape".

In his first meeting with Trump, Lee, who was elected in June, admiring the Oval Office's "bright and beautiful" look and praising the US president's relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "The only person who can make progress is you President," he said. "If you become the peacemaker, then I will assist you by being a pacemaker." He even joked about having a Trump Tower in North Korea. "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 Tower in North Korea so that I can play golf there," he told the president, speaking in Korean.

Later, when a reporter questioned Trump about his earlier remarks about South Korean authorities raiding churches, he said he had heard about it through "intel" but added that it "didn't sound to me like South Korea".

When Lee mentioned his officials were looking into the claim, Trump said he was confident they would "work it out". He described the report as a "rumour" and likely a "misunderstanding".

Last month, South Korean special prosecutor Min Joong Ki ordered raids on Unification Church sites and affiliated officials as part of an inquiry into multiple accusations involving former first lady Kim Keon Hee, according to Yonhap news agency.

In a related move, Seoul police raided Sarang Jeil Church, led by evangelical pastor Jun Kwang Hoon who had previously organised demonstrations backing the ousted president.

On Monday night, Lee emphasised the crucial role of the US-South Korea military alliance in countering North Korea's nuclear threat. He maintained that Seoul had no plan to develop nuclear weapons but warned that Pyongyang's pursuit of nuclear-armed intercontinental missiles represented escalating danger.

"There is a balance of fear on the Korean peninsula, but the situation is deteriorating," Lee said.

Lee skirted details of a verbal trade deal struck last month, but Trump made clear the US would not renegotiate.

"They had some problems with it, but we stuck to our guns," Trump said. "We are going to, they're going to make the deal that they agreed to make."