Lee to highlight South Korean investments at Philadelphia shipyard in first summit with Trump
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung speaks during a cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, August 18, 2025. / AP
6 hours ago
South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae-myung, faces a major diplomatic test on Monday as he meets US President Donald Trump in Washington for their first summit, a meeting set against shifting global power dynamics and strains in the two nations’ alliance.
Lee, who assumed office in June after winning a snap election triggered by his predecessor’s ouster over an attempted martial law decree, will aim to balance Seoul’s reliance on Washington for military security with its deep economic ties to China. Ahead of the trip, he dispatched a delegation to Beijing carrying a message seeking to mend frayed ties with China.
Trump has often criticised South Korea as a “money machine” benefiting from US protection, making the tone of the summit especially important for Lee, analysts say. “For Lee, a no-news summit would be a good outcome,” noted Victor Cha of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Seeking to prepare himself, Lee told reporters during his flight that he had studied Trump’s book The Art of the Deal. He is expected to stress South Korea’s investments in the United States, particularly during a visit to a Hanwha-owned shipyard in Philadelphia after the summit—part of the recently negotiated tariff agreement between the two countries.
That deal, reached under intense US pressure, spared South Korea from the harshest new tariffs, though details on billions of dollars in investments still need to be finalised.
South Korean officials hope trade specifics won’t dominate Monday’s talks. “Our position is that trade was already finalised last time. We hope detailed implementation plans are either excluded or kept simple,” Lee’s chief policy adviser Kim Yong-beom said last week.
Top aides, including the foreign minister, flew to Washington over the weekend to finalise preparations. With security challenges and regional diplomacy on the agenda, Lee aims to avoid surprises while building personal rapport with Trump.
