Trump Walks Back “Purge and Revolution in Korea” Remark, Says After Meeting Lee It Was a Misunderstanding

“I’m convinced it was a misunderstanding, but rumors are circulating about church raids.”
On the 25th (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump made this remark during a summit with President Lee Jae-myung, when asked by reporters about reports of raids on churches and Osan Air Base in South Korea. Trump said, “I heard from the intelligence services that there were raids on churches in Korea. We will discuss that later in a separate closed-door meeting.”

Earlier that morning at 9:20 a.m., Trump posted on Truth Social:

“What is happening in Korea? It looks like a purge or revolution.”
He added: “We cannot accept this and cannot do business there. I am meeting the new president of Korea at the White House today.”
This post came only 2 hours and 55 minutes before the Korea–U.S. summit, originally scheduled for 12:15 p.m.

Trump’s bombshell comment caused immediate stir around the White House, raising concerns it might negatively impact the summit. His executive order signing ceremony scheduled at 10 a.m. was delayed by about 50 minutes, possibly related to the uproar.

During the signing ceremony, Trump elaborated to reporters on his Truth Social post:
“I heard the new Korean government carried out very brutal raids on churches in recent days and even entered our military base to collect information.”

Observers interpreted Trump’s “church raids” and “U.S. military base intelligence gathering” remarks as references to ongoing special investigations in Korea. Last month, the Marine Corps special prosecutor searched Yoido Full Gospel Church, while another special investigation team probing martial law/treason allegations searched the Central Air Defense Command at Osan Air Base (operated jointly by Korean and U.S. forces). The prosecutors clarified at the time: “Neither the U.S. military nor U.S. data were the subject of the raid.” Nonetheless, Trump’s sudden remarks fueled turbulence just before the summit.

The summit, initially slated for 12:15, began around 12:40 after a 25-minute delay. During the customary Q&A with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said of the raids: “We’ll talk about that later. If true, it would be very bad. To me, it didn’t sound like something Korea would do.”

After Trump’s remarks, President Lee explained:
“It wasn’t about directly investigating U.S. forces. It was to examine how Korea’s control systems function.” He added, “Korea only recently overcame political turmoil following a coup attempt by a former president’s loyalists. Parliament-appointed special prosecutors are conducting fact-finding.”

At this point, Trump interjected: “Special prosecutors? Do you mean crazy Jack Smith?” prompting laughter from U.S. officials present, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Commerce Secretary Howard Rutnik. Trump added: “Crazy Jack, he’s a mad, sick man… just kidding.”

Jack Smith, appointed as special prosecutor in November 2022 under the Biden administration, led investigations into Trump’s alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election and mishandling of classified White House documents. With Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, those prosecutions were effectively halted. Trump had long denounced Smith’s investigations as a “political witch hunt.”

After hearing Lee’s explanation, Trump concluded:
“I am convinced it was a misunderstanding. Rumors are spreading about church raids, but we will discuss it in our private meeting. I’m confident it will be resolved well.”