To please Donald Trump, the South Korean president returns to Golf

Like former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, President Yoon Suk Yeol plans to use Golf to facilitate his relations with Donald Trump.

After the ping-pong diplomacy in the 1970s between China and the United States, golf diplomacy. The office of the President of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, announced, Wednesday, November 13, that the head of state had returned to golf, after a few years of interruption, to make a good impression during his future meetings with his American counterpart Donald Trump.

A 63-year-old conservative, he has not played golf for almost ten years but made the decision to return to the green after the election of Mr. Trump for a second term, the presidential office said. “President-elect Trump has played golf all his life and displayed excellent skills” in this sport, said a presidential official. “So that conversations flow smoothly” with his counterpart, the South Korean government considered that President Yoon should “hit the ball correctly”he added.

At a press conference last week, Yoon Suk Yeol predicted that he would “get along well” with Donald Trump, noting that both were new to politics when they came to power (the South Korean leader, elected in 2022, is a former prosecutor). South Korea worries about future US president's plans to combat US trade deficit with tariffs and demand more hand-in-hand from US allies in Asia for their military protection.

Several heads of state or government tried to get closer to Donald Trump through golf during his first term (2017-2021). Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, now deceased, played golf with the US president on several occasions and, according to media reports, gave him gold-plated clubs.