South Korea's Lee Passes Major Diplomatic Test With Gifts and Flattery for Trump

Investment goodies and preparation helped President score at White House: Analysts

- Wendy Teo

WASHINGTON - For his first meeting with US President Donald Trump on Aug 25, South Korean leader Lee Jae Myung came well prepared.

Apart from a golf putter customized to fit Mr Trump's height and engraved with his name, and two cowboy hats embossed with Mr Trump's favorite "Make America Great Again" (Maga) slogan, Mr Lee was armed with the best gift of all - compliments, and plenty of it.

Sitting up straight with hands on his lap, which shows respect in Korean culture, Mr Lee started the meeting by praising the gilded decor of the Oval Office, which was renovated in May to the tune of US$200 million (S$257 million).

He followed up with yet another compliment, saying that Mr Trump's Maga promise appears to be coming true, especially with the Dow Jones index hitting a record high on Aug 22.

The meeting was the first major diplomatic test for Mr Lee after he was elected barely three months ago in a snap election necessitated by the impeachment of his predecessor over last year's martial law debacle.

Analysts agreed that he did well in his first White House outing, thanks to a mix of investment goodies, thorough preparation and a keen sense of Mr Trump's style of personal diplomacy, featuring the art of flattery.

Much to the relief of his staff, Mr Lee dodged the aggressive treatment meted out to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House in February. An earlier kerfuffle over Mr Trump's Truth Social media post hours before the meeting over alleged investigations targeting churches and military bases in South Korea was also clarified as a misunderstanding.