How did the South Korean president avoid the "Zelensky scenario"? He managed to "survive Trump" PHOTO/VIDEO

Hours before his meeting with Lee on Monday, Trump lashed out at South Korea, where he said a "cleansing" was underway, adding that the US could not do business in the country.

"My staff was concerned that we would face a Zelensky scenario," Lee said at a forum organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, referring to the public argument between Zelensky, Trump and US Vice President JD Vance in February at the White House.

He pointed out that he had read The Art of the Deal, and that in the book Trump proposed a negotiation technique according to which the opponent is presented with conditions that are difficult to accept, but that the end result is not "unreasonable", according to Bloomberg.

Pool/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia

The agency states that Lee, trying to avoid the situation in which Zelensky found himself, also praised the gains of the American stock market, the gold decorations that the American president added to the Oval Office, as well as efforts to preserve peace.

Although US tariffs on South Korea of ​​15 percent remained in force, Bloomberg estimates that the meeting went well, and that the two leaders agreed on North Korea and collective security and shipbuilding.

In addition to the "purges" comments, Trump also said before the meeting that he had heard that "there have been raids on churches in the last few days, very heavy raids on churches by the new government in South Korea, that they even went into our military base and got information."

Pool/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia

The South Korean leader explained that the reports were the result of political turmoil and that the aim of the raid by investigators was to examine the command and control system of the South Korean military, not the US.

Lee took office in June after a snap election that followed after his conservative predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, was ousted for trying to impose martial law in December.

Washington previously praised Yoon for his tough stance on North Korea, while Trump has previously criticized South Korea, accusing it of abusing US military protection.