Yoon Takes Out Wedding Shoes Following Kim Geon-hee's Advice... Biden Says, "I Should Have Polished My Shoes More" [Korea-US Summit]

In a Private Conversation, Biden Shows Initial Interest in Yoon's Shoes

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] It is reported that U.S. President Joe Biden showed interest in the shoes President Yoon was wearing during their one-on-one meeting on the 21st. The shoes President Yoon wore at the time were not his usual flat shoes but the ones he wore at his wedding 10 years ago.

A presidential office official revealed part of the conversation about the shoes that took place during the one-on-one meeting between President Yoon and President Biden to reporters on the 22nd.

President Yoon usually prefers flat shoes due to plantar fasciitis and other conditions. For this reason, both President Yoon and his wife, Kim Geon-hee, purchased flat shoes at a department store near their home on the 14th.

When President Yoon first met President Biden on the 20th and toured Samsung Electronics' Pyeongtaek semiconductor campus, he was also wearing flat shoes close to comfort shoes.

However, at the Korea-U.S. summit, he appeared wearing formal dress shoes with heels. Since the summit was a special event, his wife Kim Geon-hee advised that it would be better to wear formal shoes, so he took out the shoes he wore at their 2012 wedding from the shoe rack.

During the one-on-one meeting, President Biden looked at President Yoon’s shoes and said, "The president’s shoes are so clean. I should have polished my shoes more," the official added.

The official said, "Yesterday’s conversation between the two leaders was very friendly and enjoyable," sharing the 'shoe chat.'

President Yoon and President Biden also agreed that they "seem to have found a very great partner to work with," the official said.

Meanwhile, the official said that the two leaders had an in-depth discussion about liberal democracy during the small-group meeting. In particular, President Yoon told President Biden that the reason he decided to run was because "even the president felt a crisis in liberal democracy after spending 27 years in the prosecution," the official conveyed.