South Korean leader picks up golf clubs to win over future US president
South Koreas president returns to golf after long break to build ties with Donald Trump. The move follows successful golf-diplomacy patterns as both nations prepare for significant changes in early 2025
Yoon Suk Yeol has picked-up his golf clubs this weekend breaking an eight-year pause to prep for future meetings with Donald Trump. The South-Korean leaderʼs office confirmed his return to the sport as a way to build up some common-ground with the golf-loving future US president
The move draws inspiration from late Japanese leader Shinzo Abe who used golf-diplomacy to maintain good US-Japan relations. Trump spent lots of time on golf courses during his first term (playing roughly every 6 days)
- US keeps 28‚500 troops in South Korea
- American-South Korean military training costs are high
- SK companies depend on US trade deals
- Trump once said he would “blow up“ US-SK partnership
In the past Trump made some non-standard moves in Korean politics: he said he “fell in love“ with North-Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Now experts think this bond might come back when Trump returns to office next winter
If Trump will not fight for South Korea and if he demands a huge protection fee too then the argument for South Korea to go its own way grows dramatically
The situation might push South Korea to look for its own defense options including nuclear weapons since its got weak ties with Japan and needs protection. However Yoon dont have strong public support to openly please Trump which makes everything more complex
