Seoul: The Washington meeting between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump has removed many uncertainties that had clouded the local stock market, analysts here said Tuesday, calling the Lee-Trump summit a success. The assessment comes after the leaders held their first summit in Washington on Monday (U.S. time), where the two discussed a wide range of topics, including economic cooperation and Trump's possible meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Park Sang-hyun, a researcher at iM Securities, noted in a report that the summit's goal was to defend interests rather than win concessions, marking it as partially successful. Park highlighted that Trump refrained from making additional demands on trade negotiations with Seoul and avoided pressuring Lee on defense spending and troop upkeep.
Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, echoed the positive assessment, stating the meeting proceeded smoothly despite initial concerns raised by Trump's social media post. The post suggested a "purge or revolution in South Korea," seen as a critique of the Lee administration amid former President Yoon Suk Yeol's detention over his failed martial law attempt in December.
"Contrary to pessimistic scenarios, the actual meeting turned out to be a forum for discussing various issues, such as energy, cooperation in the shipbuilding industry, and North Korea, without any major problems," Han noted.
Na Jeong-hwan, an analyst at NH Investment and Securities, confirmed the summit "ended on a positive note" despite earlier apprehensions but questioned whether it would lead to a further reduction of Washington's reciprocal tariffs against South Korea. He emphasized the need to monitor the potential reduction of the U.S. 15 percent tariff or adjustments to South Korea's US$350 billion investment promise.
Regarding shipbuilding cooperation, known as the "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again" (MASGA) project, Um Kyoung-a from Shinyoung Securities expressed optimism for the sector. She remarked that South Korea is expected to play a significant role, as the summit underscored the challenges the U.S. faces in reviving its shipbuilding industry independently.
President Trump announced plans to purchase ships from South Korea and partner with the nation to rebuild America's shipbuilding sector. "We are going to be buying ships from South Korea. We are going to have them make ships here with our people, using our people," he stated, expressing admiration for South Korean ships.
Analysts identified six sectors poised to benefit from the summit, including shipbuilding, nuclear energy, and aviation, alongside companies involved in economic cooperation with North Korea.