When reports surfaced that President Yoon Suk Yeol had played golf at a course in northeastern Seoul on Saturday, opposition politicians saw it as an opportunity to pounce. Playing golf has become close to a taboo for politicians in Korea. The exclusive and expensive nature of the sport here means that it is seen as an elite indulgence, rather than a way to unwind or a pastime for ordinary people.
As such, public officials who golf are often accused of being out of touch with the general public and neglecting their responsibilities by engaging in luxury pursuits. Yoon's office claimed his golfing is connected to his role as president, saying Tuesday that he has been practicing the sport to prepare for "golf diplomacy" with President-elect Donald Trump. According to a news report by local media outlet Nocut News, Yoon played golf for four hours Saturday in the afternoon at the military-owned Taereung Country Club in Nowon-gu, Seoul.
"President-elect Trump has honed his golf skills to the extent that golf feels like a way of life to him," a source from Yoon's office said on condition of anonymity Tuesday. "In order to let the conversations (between Yoon and Trump) go on, Yoon has to know how to hit the ball right, so I thought it’s necessary for Yoon to at least start practicing golf, as he has stopped playing golf for a while," the source continued. But the same Nocut News report said Yoon had also played golf on Oct.
12 and Nov. 2 -- before Trump was elected on Nov. 5.
Yoon.
