President Trump pressed South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, his guest at the White House, on Monday about his government’s raids on churches and political “purges” taking place in one of America’s closest military allies.
Mr. Trump said he was concerned by what he described as “very vicious” raids on several churches by Mr. Lee’s government, which has been in power for roughly two months. He vowed to get to the bottom of the situation, saying it would be a key part of his one-on-one time with Mr. Lee.
“I heard from [U.S. intelligence] that there was a raid on churches. We’re going to talk about that later. I haven’t spoken about it yet, but we will,” Mr. Trump said during his meeting with Mr. Lee. “That would be too bad if that’s the case. But I did hear from intel that there was a raid on churches, closing some churches, so we’ll talk about that later.”
The discussion about South Korea’s probes into churches was the only point of contention during the public portion of Mr. Trump’s meeting with his South Korean counterpart. Both leaders expressed optimism about trade and security agreements and exchanged compliments in front of reporters in the Oval Office.
After Mr. Lee departed, Mr. Trump told reporters that the discussions went well, calling Mr. Lee “a very good guy, a very good representative for South Korea.”
However, Mr. Trump’s concerns about the so-called raids of South Korean churches and a U.S. military base hung over the meeting.
Earlier Monday, Mr. Trump told reporters that the South Korean government “probably shouldn’t have done” the raids.
“I heard bad things,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s true or not. I’ll be finding out.”
In a confrontational Truth Social Post on Monday morning, Mr. Trump wondered if the raids would be an obstacle to striking a trade deal with Mr. Lee.
“What is going on in South Korea? Seems like a purge or revolution. We can’t have that and do business there,” he wrote.
Mr. Lee did not publicly respond to Mr. Trump’s comments about the churches, instead saying South Korea had overcome “political turmoil,” a reference to jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol. A conservative who was removed from office in April, Mr. Yoon was arrested last month over his brief imposition of martial law in December.
Mr. Lee said South Korean authorities had not conducted a search and seizure of Osan Air Base, a military facility that it operates jointly with the U.S. Instead, he said, it was an investigation into his country’s military chain of command following Mr. Yoon’s declaration of martial law.
He said he’d be “happy” to discuss the issue with Mr. Trump during their private face-to-face meeting.
Osan was the target of a raid last month by investigators looking into how Mr. Yoon’s activation of martial law came about, according to South Korean media. South Korean officials have insisted the raid was in the areas controlled by Seoul.
The investigations by Mr. Lee’s liberal government into Mr. Yoon and his wife, former first lady Kim Keon-hee, have expanded to include churches with ties to the couple. They are the first former presidential couple to be jailed simultaneously over criminal allegations in South Korea.
Seoul police this month raided Sarang Jeil Church, headed by evangelical preacher Jun Kwang-hoon, who led protests in support of Mr. Yoon. The raid was spurred by a police investigation into pro-Yoon activists who stormed a court in late January after it extended Mr. Yoon’s detention.
A bribery probe into Ms. Kim has also entangled the Family Federation, formerly known as the Unification Church. The Federation is accused of offering bribes to the former first lady before Mr. Yoon’s inauguration in exchange for political favors.
A former Federation official is alleged to have sent gifts worth more than $14,000, including a Chanel handbag and fancy jewelry, to Ms. Kim, according to South Korean media reports. In exchange, the official wanted Mr. Yoon’s government to support a development project in Cambodia, the acquisition of a Korean news channel and an invitation to Mr. Yoon’s inauguration.
A Federation spokesperson earlier this year denied the allegations and said it was cooperating with the government probes.
The Federation has several business and media interests, including The Washington Times.
Last month, the Full Gospel Church in Yeouido, Seoul, was raided by special prosecutors investigating suspicions that its pastor had connections to figures associated with the alleged cover-up of the accidental death of a Marine in 2023.
• Andrew Salmon contributed to this report.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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