Trump scores golden gifts but no investment dollars during South Korea
visit
[October 29, 2025] By
CHRIS MEGERIAN
GYEONGJU, South Korea (AP) — President Donald Trump wanted South Korea
to invest $350 billion in the American economy. So far, he's settling
for a gold medal and a crown.
Both were gifts from the country's president, Lee Jae Myung, who dialed
up the flattery while Washington and Seoul struggled to finalize details
on financial promises during the last stop of Trump’s Asia trip.
There was a special lunch menu featuring U.S.-raised beef and a
gold-adorned brownie. A band played Trump's campaign anthem of “Y.M.C.A.”
when he stepped off Air Force One. Lee told him that “you are indeed
making America great again.”
Trump can be mercurial and demanding, but he has a soft spot for pomp
and circumstance, and he seemed satisfied despite the lack of a trade
deal. He was particularly impressed by a choreographed display of
colorful flags as he walked along the red carpet.
“That was some spectacle, and some beautiful scene,” Trump told Lee
during their meeting. “It was so perfect, so flawlessly done.”
Earlier in the day, Trump even softened his rhetoric on international
trade, which he normally describes in predatory terms where someone is
always trying to rip off the United States.
“The best deals are deals that work for everybody,” he said during a
business forum.
Trump is attending the second summit of his trip
Trump was visiting while South Korea is hosting the annual Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation summit in the historical city of Gyeongju. He
previously stopped in Japan, where he bonded with the new prime
minister, and Malaysia, where he attended a summit of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations.
The Republican president has been trying to tie up trade deals along the
way, eager to show that his confrontational approach of tariffs is
paying dividends for Americans who are uneasy about the job market and
watching a federal government shutdown extend into its fifth week.
Both sides say they're still working on a trade deal
However, South Korea has been tough to crack, with the sticking point
being Trump's demand for $350 billion of direct investment in the U.S.
Korean officials say putting up cash could destabilize their own
economy, and they’d rather offer loans and loan guarantees instead. The
country would also need a swap line to manage the flow of its currency
into the U.S.
Trump said they're “very close” to a deal, although it wasn't ready yet.
Oh Hyunjoo, a deputy national security director for South Korea, told
reporters earlier in the week that the negotiations have been proceeding
“a little bit more slowly” than expected.
“We haven’t yet been able to reach an agreement on matters such as the
structure of investments, their formats and how the profits will be
distributed,” she said Monday.
It’s a contrast from Trump’s experience in Japan, where the government
has worked to deliver the $550 billion in investments it promised as
part of an earlier trade agreement. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick
announced up to $490 billion in specific commitments during a dinner
with business leaders in Tokyo.
For now, South Korea is stuck with a 25% tariff on automobiles, putting
automakers such as Hyundai and Kia at a disadvantage against Japanese
and European competitors, which face 15%.
Lee, speaking at the business forum before Trump arrived, warned against
trade barriers.
“At a time when protectionism and nationalism are on the rise and
nations focus on their immediate survival, words like ‘cooperation,’
‘coexistence’ and ‘inclusive growth’ may sound hollow," he said. "Yet,
paradoxically, it is in times of crisis like this that APEC’s role as a
platform for solidarity shines brighter.”
[to top of second column] |
President Donald Trump arrives at an Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) CEO luncheon in Gyoeongju, South Korea,
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
 Trump and Lee swap praise despite
disagreements
Lee took office in June and had a warm meeting with Trump at the
White House in August, when he praised Oval Office renovations and
suggested building a Trump Tower in North Korea.
He took a similar approach when Trump visited on Wednesday. The gold
medal presented to Trump represents the Grand Order of Mugunghwa,
the country’s highest honor, and Trump is the first U.S. president
to receive it.
Trump said “it’s as beautiful as it can possibly be” and “I’d like
to wear it right now.”
Next was a replica of a royal crown from the Silla Kingdom, which
existed from 57 B.C. to 935 A.D. The original crown was found in a
tomb in Gyeongju, the kingdom’s capital.
Besides trade disagreements, there have been other points of tension
between Washington and Seoul this year. More than 300 South Koreans
were detained during a U.S. immigration raid on a Hyundai plant in
Georgia in September, sparking a sense of outrage and betrayal.
Lee said at the time companies would likely hesitate to make future
investments unless the visa system was improved.
“If that’s not possible, then establishing a local factory in the
United States will either come with severe disadvantages or become
very difficult for our companies," he said.
Asked Monday about the immigration raid, Trump said, “I was opposed
to getting them out,” and he said an improved visa system would make
it easier for companies to bring in skilled workers.
Trump-Xi meeting is expected Thursday
While in South Korea, Trump is also expected to hold a closely
watched meeting on Thursday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Washington and Beijing have clashed over trade, but both sides have
indicated that they're willing to dial down tensions.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday that he
expects to lower tariffs targeting China over the flow of fentanyl
ingredients.
“They’ll be doing what they can do,” he said. Trump added that
“China is going to be working with me.”
Trump sounded resigned to the idea that he wouldn't get to meet
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on this trip. The president
previously floated the possibility of extending his stay in South
Korea, but on Wednesday said “the schedule was very tight.”
North Korea has so far dismissed overtures from Washington and
Seoul, saying it won’t resume diplomacy with the United States
unless Washington drops its demand for the North’s denuclearization.
North Korea said Wednesday it fired sea-to-surface cruise missiles
into its western waters, in the latest display of its growing
military capabilities as Trump visits South Korea.
Trump brushed off the weapons test, saying “he’s been launching
missiles for decades, right?”
The two leaders met during Trump's first term, although their
conversations did not produce any agreements about North Korea's
nuclear program.
___
Associated Press writers Kim Tong-hyung and Hyung-jin Kim
contributed from Seoul, South Korea, and Josh Boak contributed from
Tokyo.
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