SEOUL — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol recently took up golf for the first time in eight years in preparation for future meetings with United States President-elect Donald Trump, Yoon’s office confirmed Tuesday.

South Korean media said Yoon visited a golf course last Saturday for a sport his office said he last played in 2016.

“Many people close to President Trump… (have told me) that President Yoon and Trump will have good chemistry,” Yoon said at a news conference last Thursday, after congratulating Trump by telephone on his victory.

GAME ON South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a news conference in the capital Seoul, November 7, 2024. PHOTO YONHAP VIA EPA

Former Trump administration officials and influential Republicans have offered to help build ties with the new president, he added.

Analysts said Yoon may seek to find a way to capitalize on his personal friendship with Trump to advance Seoul’s interests amid Trump’s “America First” foreign policy plans and unpredictable style. manifest themselves during his second term.

South Korean businesses rely heavily on trade with the United States, and during Trump’s first term, the two countries clashed over cost-sharing for the roughly 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the Korean War of 1950-1953.

Seoul officials have been scrambling to prepare for significant economic change, while Yoon on Sunday called for government-industry negotiations to prepare for Trump’s return.

Trump and Yoon’s similar personalities and foreign approaches could help them get along, said Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a specialist in Korean affairs at King’s College London.

“I also think Yoon is generally well-liked by policymakers in the United States, which will help him, whoever advises Trump on foreign policy,” he added.

Bruce Klingner of the Heritage Foundation in Washington agreed that the two could develop a strong relationship, but warned that it may not be enough to spare South Korea from negative impacts.

“While many leaders will seek to replicate the friendship that Shinzo Abe had with Trump, there is no evidence that this personal relationship has brought tangible and demonstrative benefits to Japan,” added the former Central analyst. Intelligence Agency, referring to the assassinated former Japanese Prime Minister. .

Tokyo was treated the same as Seoul in contentious military cost-sharing negotiations, he added.