President Donald Trump raised alarms with a social media post about South Korea's impeached former president hours before his meeting with the U.S. ally's current leader.
South Korea President Lee Jae-myung arrived Monday in Washington, D.C., for a meeting with Trump to offer a $150 billion package called "Make America Shipbuilding Great Again," but the U.S. president commented on the country's recent political instability in a social media post.
"WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOUTH KOREA?" Trump posted at 9:20 a.m. EST. "Seems like a Purge or Revolution. We can’t have that and do business there. I am seeing the new President today at the White House. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!"
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached and suspended from office after a botched declaration of martial law in December sparked massive protests, and observers were confused why Trump would bring that up right before his meeting with the new leader.
"South Korean govt’s worst nightmare appears to be coming true: Trump involving himself in the insurrection investigation of impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol," posted BBC journalist Jake Kwon.
"It was not immediately clear what Trump was referring to, but South Korea had been in a state of political turmoil for the last several months after the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol, briefly imposed martial law and eventually was ousted from office," said Seung Min Kim, White House correspondent for the Associated Press.
"More foreign interference incoming, this time in Asia," added journalist Mark Chadbourn.
"This sounds like a defense of fellow wannabe dictator Yoon Suk Yeol," wrote John Carl Baker, senior program officer at Ploughshares Fund, where he manages the foundation's portfolio of North Korea-related grants.
"If you’re wondering why Trump may be talking about purges and revolution in Korea, some MAGA folk have been trying for months to get Trump to help impeached and imprisoned former Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol who has espoused election fraud conspiracies after declaring martial law last December," noted Korean studies professor Benjamin A. Engel.
"Trump has seen ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol on trial for leading an insurrection after his martial law chaos," commented Bluesky user Jude Nagurney Camwell. "His wife is under investigation, too. Both are in detention. Trump sees his own future in this, as he does in the case of Bolsonaro, fearing similar fate."