Trump before meeting South Korean president: ‘WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOUTH KOREA?’

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press after signing an executive order that aims to end cashless bail, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on August 25, 2025. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) / TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 23: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Prime Minister's office on August 23, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. Lee Jae Myung is making his first official visit to Japan as South Korean President, to strengthen the bilateral relationship ahead of his trip to the United States. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon - Pool/Getty Images)
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on August 25, 2025. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) / South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Prime Minister’s office on August 23, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon – Pool/Getty Images)

OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
10:58 AM – Monday, August 25, 2025

In the hours leading up to his meeting at the White House with Lee Jae Myung, South Korea’s new president, President Donald Trump raised criticisms of the country’s leadership and current internal conflicts.

“WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOUTH KOREA?” Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday morning. “Seems like a Purge or Revolution. We can’t have that and do business there.”

Trump seemingly referred to a fiasco beginning in December of 2024, when South Korea’s previous president, Yoon Suk Yeol, declared martial law and arranged for his political enemies’ arrests. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials considered his actions to be an abuse of power, warranting his arrest. He was apprehended in January after a couple of failed attempts, and he was impeached and removed from office in April. The former leader has an ongoing insurrection trial, which could result in life imprisonment or the death penalty.

Yoon’s wife, former First Lady Kim Keon Hee, was also arrested earlier this month on corruption, bribery and election interference accusations.

Additionally, South Korean prosecutors recently filed an arrest warrant on Sunday for former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on charges of aiding the ex-president in his brief attempt at martial law, another indication of the country’s ongoing political turmoil.

Han had served as acting president after Yoon’s removal. He resigned from the position to run for president in the June election, but dropped out after controversy erupted among conservatives.

Lee and Trump are set to meet at the White House on Monday to discuss China policies and defense obligations before having lunch together. Lee will be entering his discussions with Trump on a tightrope. He aims to balance cooperation with the U.S., as South Korea’s economy heavily relies on the U.S.’s military and nuclear security, without antagonizing China, a prominent trade partner.

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