NewsHail
04 Jun 2025
South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae-myung, just won the election. But he does not get time to prepare. He must start work right away because the last president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was removed from office. Yoon tried to put the country under military rule, but failed.
Lee won with nearly 50% of the vote. People want him to fix the economy and protect democracy. But his biggest problem may come from outside — former US President Donald Trump.
Trump recently announced new taxes (tariffs) on South Korean goods. He added a 25% tax on everything, including steel and cars. This could hurt South Korea’s economy badly, which is already slowing down.
Lee also has to talk to Trump about military support. The US has 28,500 soldiers in South Korea to help defend it from North Korea. But Trump has said South Korea needs to pay more for this help. He may also move US troops out of Korea or use them to focus on China instead.
Lee wants to stay friendly with both China and the US. But that will be hard if the US asks South Korea to help in a conflict with China over Taiwan.
North Korea is watching all of this. Its leader, Kim Jong Un, has more and better nuclear weapons now. He may want a deal with Trump that helps him but hurts South Korea. For example, Trump might agree to protect the US but not South Korea, or even remove US troops from Korea.
Experts say Lee must act fast. He needs to build trust with Trump and prove that South Korea is a strong partner. One way to do this might be through its shipbuilding skills. South Korea builds many ships and could help the US navy, which is currently weak.
Lee said during his campaign that he wanted to take his time. But now he may not have that choice.
