US President Donald Trump has criticised South Korea just hours before a summit with its new President, Lee Jae Myung, as conflict over defence spending and trade tests the two countries’ decades-old alliance.
The leaders were gearing up for their first summit when Trump said on social media, without providing evidence, that there: “Seems like a Purge or Revolution” in South Korea and that “We can’t have that and do business there.”
The remarks cast a dark mood over what, for Lee, are high-stakes talks.
He took office in June following a snap election called after his conservative predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, was removed for his December attempt to impose martial law.
South Korea’s economy relies heavily on the US, with Washington underwriting its security with troops and nuclear deterrence.
Lee wants to chart a balanced path of cooperation with the US, while avoiding antagonising South Korea’s top trade partner, China.
Trump did not spell out the reasons for his complaint.
But they appeared aligned with those lodged by Korea’s far-right movement, especially evangelical Christians and supporters of Yoon, who is on trial on charges of inciting an insurrection.
Those Yoon supporters see the ex-president as the subject of communist persecution and have levelled unsubstantiated claims of election tampering in the vote that brought Lee to power in June.
South Korea’s presidential office told local media they were looking into the matter.
The White House did not immediately respond to emailed questions about Trump’s post.
South Korea has long come under targeted criticism from Trump, who has called it a “money machine” that takes advantage of American military protection.
“Regardless of how this specific incident plays out, Trump has nicely illustrated how unreliable and capricious he is for allies,” said Mason Richey, professor at Seoul’s Hankuk University.
The two countries are engaged in lower-level negotiations over trade, nuclear power, and military spending.
Several top officials, including the foreign minister, rushed to Washington over the weekend to try to iron out final details.
Trump planned to discuss “North Korea, defence posture, trade barriers, maritime security, American shipbuilding, energy dominance, and more,” according to a White House official.
Lee’s goal coming into the meeting has been to sidestep some of the thorniest issues, make a good impression, connect personally with Trump, and above all, avoid any unpleasant surprises, analysts said.
As part of his preparations for the summit, Lee told reporters during his flight to Washington that he had read “Trump: The Art of the Deal,” the president’s 1987 memoir.
Under heavy pressure from Trump’s administration, South Korean negotiators secured a last-minute deal last month to avoid the harshest of new US tariffs, but they must still hammer out details of billions of dollars in promised investments in the United States.
“There are many major topics in the security field,” Lee’s top policy aide, Kim Yong-beom, said last week.
“Our position is that trade was already finalised last time. We hope that specific implementation plans for trade won’t be included in the summit at all, or at least should be kept simple if discussed.”
Lee, who arrived in Washington on Sunday, will highlight some of South Korea’s expected investments when he visits a shipyard in Philadelphia owned by the country’s Hanwha Group after the summit.
Cooperation to help the ailing US shipbuilding sector is part of the broad tariff agreement reached between the countries.
Trump is expected to pressure Lee to commit to more spending on defence, including potentially billions of dollars more toward the upkeep of the 28,500 American troops stationed in South Korea.
Australian Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national newswire and has been delivering accurate, reliable and fast news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We keep Australia informed.
