During the South Korea-U.S. summit, Donald Trump, the U.S. president, showed interest in a signature pen of President Lee Jae-myung, which became a hot topic, while Tak Hyun-min, a former protocol secretary at the Blue House and now an event planning advisor to the National Assembly speaker, noted, "I feel oddly good that the legacy of the past Moon Jae-in administration seems to have helped the current administration."
On the 27th, Tak noted through his Facebook that he remembered the president's signature dedicated pen was made after the inter-Korean summit and shared the behind-the-scenes story of making the 'presidential signature dedicated pen' that has become the topic of discussion.
He explained, "At the time of signing the September 19 military agreement between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the North used a Montblanc fountain pen while the South used a name pen, which created quite a disadvantage for the protocol secretary Kim ○○ at that time," adding, "Of course, it was President Moon who preferred the name pen, but it didn't look good, and the comparison from a protocol standpoint was the issue."
He continued, "After that, I thought we needed to create a presidential signature dedicated pen, so I made a wooden and metal pen with the presidential emblem engraved on it and the ink cartridge inside, which was used whenever there was a need for a signature. The protocol secretary would carry one, and the head of the secretariat would carry another, which were offered to the president for signing purposes."
Tak also revealed a photo of the pen used by former President Moon during the last year of his term. He mentioned, "I don't remember what the last signing with this pen was, but it is likely to be the same design and purpose as the pen that President Lee Jae-myung gifted to President Trump today," adding, "I feel oddly good that the legacy of the last government, or rather the one before that, has helped the new government a little."
The pen that President Lee presented to President Trump as an impromptu gift was said to have been custom-made by the domestic handmade fountain pen manufacturer Zenyle at the request of the presidential office over about a month and a half.
This pen, crafted from solid wood by artisans, allows for the choice of materials such as rosewood and olive wood and uses natural materials like palm leaf extract wax.
Zenyle previously made a signature pen for President Trump during his first visit to South Korea and the North-South-U.S. trilateral summit.