In a speech Friday in South Korea, President Joe Biden bungled the name of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, though he quickly corrected himself, the Washington Examiner reports.
"Thank you all very much. And President Moon — Yoon, thank you for everything you've done so far," Biden said, perhaps in reference to former Korean President Moon Jae-in, whose five-year term ended earlier in May.
Biden made the remarks after touring a Samsung semiconductor chip plant near Seoul. He has struggled with names on several occasions this week, including on Monday when he referred to Aaron Salter Jr., a security guard who lost his life in the Buffalo mass shooting, by the surname Slater.
He also struggled to say “AANHPI” in remarks on Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and on Thursday pronounced Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s last name two different ways in remarks about Sweden's and Finland’s applications to join NATO.
Biden, 79, is the oldest first-term president in U.S. history.
Nearly 40 Republican lawmakers have called on Biden to take a cognitive test, saying that his “mental decline and forgetfulness” have become more apparent over the past two years.
The report comes after two U.S. Secret Service employees in South Korea to prepare for Biden’s visit were sent home after being involved in a confrontation with local residents that led to a police investigation.
An agent and an armed physical security specialist were involved in the alcohol-fueled incident that included a heated argument with a taxi driver and led local law enforcement to file a police report, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly. Other witnesses also lodged complaints about the federal law enforcement officers' behavior.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.