Presidential pen of Lee Jae Myung is given as a gift to US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, Monday. (Joint Press Corps)
Presidential pen of Lee Jae Myung is given as a gift to US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, Monday. (Joint Press Corps)

Foreign media outlets on Tuesday attributed the cordial atmosphere at President Lee Jae Myung’s first meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington to Lee’s adept use of flattery, even as the two leaders faced a host of thorny issues surrounding trade and security.

The Associated Press, in an article titled “Trump’s initial warning to South Korea’s Lee turns into warm welcome after flattery,” said that Lee was able to avoid an exchange like the disastrous encounter between Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February.

“But any prospect of a hostile Oval Office meeting evaporated after Lee heaped praise onto the US president — lauding the decor, beseeching Trump to continue to help with Korean peace efforts and even suggesting a Trump Tower in North Korea,” the AP said.

“The cordial display showed how world leaders are taking notes from previous meetings between Trump and heads of state, who’ve largely chosen the route of praise and adulation rather than confrontation as they seek favorable trade terms and continued military aid from Washington,” it added.

Echoing the AP’s sentiment, Reuters said that “South Korea's Lee Jae Myung narrowly avoided what he called a ‘Zelenskyy moment’ after US President Donald Trump welcomed him to Washington with right-wing conspiracy theories but then pulled off a high-stakes summit without unwanted drama.”

“Lee and Trump displayed a chummy and mutually flattering vibe while glossing over the prickly trade and defense issues and defusing a potential conflict related to South Korea's political crisis in December,” it added.

Politico called Lee’s meeting “South Korea’s very good day in the Oval Office” and said that the South Korean president was one of many heads of state who are “learning to butter up Trump,” which starts with “shameless flattery.”

“Lee’s success adds him to a small but growing list of world leaders — from NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte to the UK’s Keir Starmer — who have mastered the art of wooing Trump as they conduct tense discussions over trade and security deals,” it said.


mkjung@heraldcorp.com