REPORTER’S NOTEBOOKTrump Jr., Musk put Korea in dilemma

Donald Trump Jr., right, vice president of the Trump Organization, speaks during the Qatar Economic Forum at the Raffles Fairmont in Doha, Wednesday (local time). Korea Times photo by Park Jae-hyuk

DOHA, Qatar — Despite the participation of two of the world's most eye-catching newsmakers — Donald Trump Jr. and Elon Musk — it was difficult to spot representatives from large Korean companies during the Qatar Economic Forum this week.

The only Korean business people seen at the event seemed to be a few startup executives, as well as Samsung C&T officials who attended because of their partnership with the Qatar Free Zones Authority.

In the remarks delivered by these two key aides to U.S. President Donald Trump, however, there were some points that the Korean government and companies need to consider — even though the president's oldest son did not mention his Seoul visit last month and the Tesla CEO did not talk about Korea's low birthrate this time.

Walking a fine line between politics and business, the two implied they will remain pivotal for governments and companies seeking to reach out to the U.S. administration.

Both also did not hesitate to defend Trump's policies from critics during the forum.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, right side of the screen, virtually participates in the Qatar Economic Forum at the Raffles Fairmont in Doha, Tuesday (local time). Korea Times photo by Park Jae-hyuk

Trump Jr., who ruled out any deals between the companies he leads and government entities, did not deny rumors that he could run for the next U.S. president, saying, "It's an honor to see that some people are OK with it."

What he said sounded like a request for governments to keep an eye on him while avoiding direct relationships.

From Korea's standpoint, the country may have no choice but to leverage Trump Jr.'s friendship with Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin, who arranged meetings between the U.S. president's son and Korean businesspeople in Seoul last month.

"These next three and a half years is the greatest opportunity to reset America, to reset relations around the world and to create prosperity and growth for everyone," Trump Jr. said Wednesday.

Musk, who offered to step back from the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency and focus more on Tesla for the next five years, said he will reduce political spending on future elections in response to a question about his political influence.

However, he is still considered to wield influence over diplomatic affairs, as evidenced by South Africa's move to ease rules on land expropriation in exchange for allowing Starlink in just before the President Cyril Ramaphosa's visit to the White House, Wednesday.

"It's improper for there to be racist laws in South Africa," Musk said Tuesday, when asked whether he recognizes that deregulation as a conflict of interest. He even drew applause from the audience by asking the moderator whether she "likes the law."

In Korea, Starlink is expected to begin offering its satellite internet service as early as next month, once it receives government approval.

Amid the possibility of competition with domestic players, it remains to be seen whether this will also serve as a means for Musk to exert influence over Korea's policies and the country's relations with the U.S.