South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has brushed the dust off his golf clubs in an effort to build a relationship with President-elect Donald Trump, an avid golf enthusiast, ABC News reports.
The presidential office said on Tuesday that Yoon began practicing the game for the first time in eight years in preparation for a possible golf game with Trump.
Since his election, Trump’s “America First” approach has raised concerns that it could negatively impact the US defence commitment to South Korea and hurt the Northeast Asian country’s trade interests in various ways, including raising tariffs.
Some experts believe it is important to establish a close personal friendship with Trump during the transition period before he officially takes office in January. Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, said:
Much could depend on whether Yoon is able to strike up positive chemistry with Trump immediately during the transition and foster a close personal friendship to convince him to want to support and advance Seoul’s interests.
Yoon and Trump discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation and agreed to hold a face-to-face meeting soon during a phone call on Thursday. The South Korean president later told reporters that while the situation may not remain the same as it was under the Biden administration, “we have been preparing for a long time to hedge those risks.”
And apparently a game of golf may be what’s needed.
Local media reported that Yoon travelled to a Seoul golf course on Saturday, but the presidential office said it could not confirm the reports.
A senior presidential official, speaking on condition of anonymity at a briefing, said that while he did not know how hard Yoon was practicing golf, the training was necessary because “our president also needs to hit the ball correctly to have conversations with Trump, who has outstanding golfing skills.”
Yoon is not the first world leader to try to use golf to develop a relationship with Trump.
Japan’s assassinated Prime Minister Shinzo Abe struck up a personal friendship with then-President Trump on the courses of golf clubs in both Japan and the US when he was president. In 2017, Abe said a round of golf with Trump was a good chance to relax and discuss difficult issues.
