Trump's initial warning to South Korea's Lee turns into warm welcome
after flattery
[August 26, 2025]
By SEUNG MIN KIM
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump took to social media before
meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Monday to threaten
not to do business with Seoul because of a “Purge or Revolution” that he
claimed was taking place in the country.
But any prospect of a hostile Oval Office meeting evaporated after Lee
heaped praise onto the U.S. president — lauding the decor, beseeching
Trump to continue to help with Korean peace efforts and even suggesting
a Trump Tower in North Korea.
“We've known each other and gotten along very well,” Trump said, before
adding: “It's a great honor to be with you and congratulations on your
election. That was a big one, and we're with you 100%.”
The cordial display showed how world leaders are taking notes from
previous meetings between Trump and heads of state, who've largely
chosen the route of praise and adulation rather than confrontation as
they seek favorable trade terms and continued military aid from
Washington.
It was one of the first big foreign policy tests for Lee, who took over
a country in a state of political turmoil since its former leader, Yoon
Suk Yeol, was ousted from office after imposing martial law.
Lee, elected in June, began by praising one of Trump's pet projects:
presidential interior design.
“I heard that you recently redecorated the Oval Office, and I would like
to say that it looks very bright and beautiful,” Lee said through an
interpreter. “It has the dignity of America, and it symbolizes the new
future and prosperity of America.”
He noted that the Dow Jones index has reached record highs (although Lee
made sure to add the caveat that “it went down a bit”) and asked Trump,
who has been on a mission to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, to reunify
the two Koreas and even perhaps see the construction of a Trump Tower in
North Korea accompanied by a round of golf. Lee also agreed with Trump's
assertion that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would not have continued
to enhance his nuclear capabilities the last few years had Trump
remained in office.
Noting a “renaissance” that is taking place, Lee said, “I believe you
are the only leader who has made such accomplishments.”
What happened in South Korea
The tone was a far cry from Trump's confrontational social media post
earlier Monday. He later elaborated that he was referring to raids on
churches and on a U.S. military base by the new South Korean government,
which they “probably shouldn't have done."
“I heard bad things,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday
morning. “I don't know if it's true or not. I'll be finding out.”
Trump did not identify specific raids. But earlier this month, South
Korean police raided a church led by a conservative activist pastor who
authorities allege is connected to a riot by Yoon’s supporters at a
Seoul court in January, after it issued an arrest warrant for him.
A special prosecutor’s team that is investigating corruption allegations
against Yoon’s arrested wife, former first lady Kim Keon Hee, also
raided the facilities of the Unification Church over allegations that
one of its officials gave her luxury goods.
Meanwhile, Osan Air Base, which is jointly operated by the United States
and South Korea, was also the target of a raid last month by
investigators looking into how Yoon’s activation of martial law
transpired. South Korean investigators stressed the search was limited
to areas controlled by Seoul and did not involve U.S. military
operations.
Asked about his assertions by a reporter in front of Lee, Trump declined
to confront the South Korean president and instead said the two will
discuss it later.
“It didn't sound to me like South Korea,” Trump said.
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President Donald Trump, right, meets with South Korean President Lee
Jae Myung in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Aug. 25,
2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Lee explained that the special prosecutor was tapped by the
country's National Assembly to investigate the actions of Yoon, who
Lee said staged a “self-coup.”
At that point, Trump interjected, “Is his name Deranged Jack Smith,
by any chance?” He was referring to the special prosecutor who led
two criminal cases against Trump before the Republican president was
reelected to a second term.
Yoon, who was elected to a five-year term in 2022, was considered
more ideologically aligned with Trump and had even taken up golfing
again after the U.S. president was reelected last November to try to
forge a bond with him. Lee led the South Korean parliament's efforts
to overturn Yoon's martial law decree while impeaching him. The
nation's Constitutional Court formally dismissed Yoon in April.
The new president
Elected in June, Lee was a former child laborer with an arm
deformity who rose his way through South Korea’s political ranks to
lead the liberal Democratic Party and win the presidency after
multiple attempts.
At a subsequent remarks in Washington on Monday night, Lee suggested
that Trump's post had been “threatening” and said it had him worried
he might face a “Zelenksyy moment" — similar to when Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was hounded out of the Oval Office by
Trump and Vice President JD Vance following a contentious meeting in
February.
But Lee also said the South Korean-U.S. relationship was strong
enough that he was confident Trump wouldn't work to undermine it.
Instead, he said the pair had “very good conversations” that went
“beyond my expectations" and took longer than originally scheduled.
“Everybody gave me the advice to have patience,” Lee said of his
meeting with Trump.
He said he also told Trump that South Korea would increase its
defense spending, even as it works to ease tensions between his
country and North Korea.
“We will increase our defense budget, which will be used to
transform the Korean military into a smart military that will
prevail in future,” Lee said.
Lee said he and Trump also discussed modernizing their countries'
trade relations, which follows a July deal that has Seoul investing
hundreds of billions of dollars in the U.S. That agreement set
tariffs on South Korean goods at 15% after Trump threatened rates as
high as 25%.
Seoul has one of the largest trade surpluses among Washington’s NATO
and Indo-Pacific allies, and countries where the U.S. holds a trade
deficit has drawn particular ire from Trump, who wants to eliminate
such trade imbalances.
Trump also said Monday that he’d like to scrap the U.S. lease with
South Korea that covers Osan Air Base and instead get ownership of
the land.
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Associated Press writer Will Weissert in Washington contributed to
this report.
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