South Korean president congratulates Trump for winning White House race

U.S. Republican Party candidate and former President Donald Trump won the race for the White House, multiple U.S. outlets reported Wednesday.

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump, center, waves as he walks with former first lady Melania Trump at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Wednesday in West Palm Beach, Florida. [AP/YONHAP]

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol congratulated U.S. Republican Party candidate and former President Donald Trump on Wednesday after his victory in the race for the White House.

In a message posted on his official X account, Yoon said he “looks forward to working closely” with Trump and said the future of the South Korea-U.S. alliance “will shine brighter” under the former U.S. president’s “strong leadership.”

While vote tallying continues across the United States, Trump appears to have clinched the key swing states of North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which would give him at least 277 out of 538 votes in the U.S. Electoral College as of press time.

As he declared victory in front of a cheering crowd in West Palm Beach, Florida, early morning on Wednesday, the 78-year-old Trump thanked the American people for electing him their 47th president and promised to “make America great again for all Americans,” repeating his original campaign slogan from 2016.

“I will not let you down. America’s future will be bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer and stronger than it has been before,” he vowed.

He also singled out billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk as a “new star” and “one of the most important people” who campaigned on his behalf.

Supporters of Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump celebrate as Fox News declares him the next winner of the 2024 White House race in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday. [AFP/YONHAP]

To win, U.S. presidential candidates must garner at least 270 votes in the Electoral College, which apportions votes to states based on their combined number of congressional representatives and senators, with the exception of Washington, D.C., which has three votes despite not having representation in the American legislature.

Trump also holds leads in several other swing states whose races have not yet been called as of print time.

The former president improved on his performance in the 2020 election in both rural areas, which lean Republican, as well as urban centers, which lean Democratic.

Before the official results of the election were announced, an official from the Korean presidential office said on Wednesday that Seoul plans to build a “perfect” security partnership with the next administration in Washington, reflecting the importance of the country’s alliance with the United States to its economic and security interests.

Seoul regards defense cooperation with Washington as crucial to deterring the threat posed by Pyongyang’s growing nuclear weapons and missile arsenal.

A high-ranking presidential official told reporters that Yoon is expected to speak to the U.S. president-elect in the coming days.

Republican nominee Donald Trump, the projected winner of the U.S. presidential race, points to the crowd at an election night watch party in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday. [AP/YONHAP]

The U.S. presidential election has been closely followed among ordinary South Koreans as well.

In an opinion survey by Gallup International, 83 percent of 1,002 South Korean respondents said they believed the results of the White House race would affect their country — the highest proportion among respondents across 43 countries where the same poll was carried out.

Likewise, 53 percent of South Korean respondents said the U.S. presidential election would have a “very high impact” on their country, higher than any other country included in the survey.

However, 71 percent of South Koreans said they preferred Democratic Party candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris as U.S. president over Trump, who was favored by only 16 percent.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump prepare to shake hands at the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone dividing the Korean Peninsula June 30, 2019. [AP/YONHAP]

That imbalance could reflect the relative smoothness of relations between Seoul and Washington under current U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, which negotiated the establishment of the Nuclear Consultative Group and the Washington Declaration with Yoon to bolster the U.S. extended deterrence commitment to South Korea.

Over half of Koreans surveyed by Gallup also said they expect the standing of the United States to “deteriorate” should Trump win the election.

During his first presidency from 2017 to 2021, Trump demanded a five-fold increase in South Korea’s contribution to keep U.S. troops on the peninsula and held two inconclusive summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The failure of the last summit in Hanoi in 2019 was followed by a rapid deterioration in inter-Korean relations and a massive escalation in long-range missile tests by Pyongyang.

Update, Nov. 6: Additional comments by Trump during his speech. Electoral College vote count updated. Additional details from Gallup International survey.Update, Nov. 6 : President Yoon's congratulatory comments added.Update, Nov. 6 : Electoral College vote updated to reflect Trump's victory.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]