'They'd be happy to do it': Trump claims 'money machine' South Korea would pay $10 billion a year if he were president

Former U.S. President Donald Trump referred to South Korea as a "money machine," claiming the country would be paying $10 billion annually if he were still in the White House.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait at the Economic Club of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, on Tuesday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Former U.S. President Donald Trump referred to South Korea as a "money machine," claiming the country would be paying $10 billion annually if he were still in the White House.

This figure is nine times higher than the current cost-sharing agreement between the two nations for stationing U.S. troops in Seoul.

"If I were there [in the White House] now, they'd be paying us $10 billion a year. And you know what? They'd be happy to do it," Trump said in an interview with the Economic Club of Chicago and Bloomberg News on Tuesday.

“South Korea, they’re wonderful people, extremely ambitious. They have a money machine. We protect them [South Korea] from North Korea and others. North Korea is very nuclear — I got along with him [Kim Jong-un] very well. But they [South Korea] don't pay us anything, and I said, 'This is crazy,'" Trump added, emphasizing the push he made during his presidency for South Korea to increase its contribution for U.S. troops stationed in the country.

The Republican presidential candidate also criticized the Biden administration for "cutting back" on the defense cost-sharing deal, known as the Special Measures Agreement (SMA).

During his term, Trump demanded that Seoul pay $5 billion — five to six times more than what South Korea at the time contributed for the presence of about 28,500 American troops. However, no agreement was reached during his presidency. It was not until the Biden administration took office in January 2021 that the two countries reached a compromise.

Earlier this month, South Korea and the United States finalized new SMA negotiations, setting Seoul’s contribution for the stationing of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) through 2030. Under the deal, Seoul will contribute 1.52 trillion won ($1.1 billion) starting in 2026, an 8.3 percent increase from 1.4 trillion won in 2025, reflecting the rise in the consumer price index.

Since 1991, South Korea has shared the financial burden of U.S. troops under the SMA, covering costs for USFK workers, military facilities and other support staff.

Trump also referred to North Korea’s recent destruction of an inter-Korean road, commenting that “South Korea is now cut off from Russia and China.” He implied that this isolation could give the United States leverage to renegotiate economic agreements with Seoul in ways more favorable to American interests.

BY WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]