South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is getting back into golf after not playing for nearly ten years. His office announced this on Wednesday, explaining that he wants to prepare for future meetings with the newly elected US President Donald Trump.
At 63 years old, Yoon hasn’t picked up a golf club in a long time, but he plans to start practicing again. An official from his office mentioned that for their discussions to go smoothly, President Yoon needs to be able to play golf well. This is important because both leaders might connect better through the sport, which has been a common way for politicians to build relationships.
According to a report from the daily newspaper Kyeongin Ilbo, Yoon used to score in the 90s when he played golf regularly.
Donald Trump, who has a well-known passion for golf, owns several golf courses in the US and around the world. He often talks about his golf skills on social media and claims to have a low handicap, which means he’s a very skilled player.
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Recently, during a press conference, Yoon mentioned that people have said he would have a good relationship with Trump, especially since both of them were new to politics when they were elected to their positions.
Before becoming president in 2022, Yoon worked as a prosecutor.
Many world leaders have tried to form personal connections with Trump through golf, with varying degrees of success. For example, the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe played golf with Trump several times and even gave him a set of gold-plated clubs. There was also a funny moment when a video of Abe falling into a sand trap while playing with Trump went viral.
Despite these golf outings meant to strengthen ties, Trump’s past comments about making US allies, including South Korea, pay more for their defense have caused some concern in Seoul. Recently, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs shared information on social media to highlight how important South Korea is to the US.
Their pamphlet, titled “Korea Matters to the US,” included statistics showing that South Korea has created 470,000 jobs in the US and that these jobs offer the highest salaries among Asian investors in the country. It also pointed out that South Korea is a significant buyer of US weapons and spends 2.8% of its GDP on defense.
