In Latest Gaffe, US President Joe Biden Calls Kim Jong Un 'South Korean President'

Biden's mistakes also occurred in a previous incident where he stumbled over Yoon's name during a trip to South Korea in May 2022, mistakenly calling him "President Moon".

During a campaign reception in Portola Valley, Calif, US President Joe Biden made a notable slip-up by mistakenly referring to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un as the president of South Korea. This latest gaffe occurred as Biden criticised his 2024 opponent, former President Donald Trump, for his close ties with the North Korean leader.

The president said “We’ll never forget his love letters for the South Korean President Kim Jong Un or his admiration for Putin — what a great leader Putin is," as quoted by the White House transcript of the speech.

Just over a year ago, Biden hosted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at the White House for a grand state dinner, and the two leaders also spent time together during a summit at Camp David.

Biden's Gaffes Addressing Leaders Across Countries

Friday's gaffe with the president of South Korea wasn't even his first. In a previous incident, he stumbled over Yoon's name during a trip to South Korea in May 2022, mistakenly calling him "President Moon" instead after touring a Samsung micro-chip facility. Moon Jae-in, the former president, was Yoon's predecessor.

The commander-in-chief has also mispronounced the names of the presidents of Mexico, Egypt, France, Germany, and Ukraine just in the past year, according to The New York Post.

During a NATO summit in Lithuania last July, Biden addressed Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, as “Vladimir,” apparently mistaking him for Vladimir Putin, the leader of Russia and an adversary of both the US and Ukraine.

Amidst a press conference in February, Biden confused Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. This was done to defend himself against claims made by former special counsel Robert Hur that he had a " poor memory."

“As you know, initially, the president of Mexico, Sisi, did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in [to Gaza],” Biden said. “I talked to him. I convinced him to open the gate,” he also said.