The rally began when Trump noticed the pen during his first in-person meeting with his South Korean counterpart Lee Jae Myung on Monday. He asked Myung multiple questions about the origin of the pen, its constituents and showed it around before the two leaders moved to a closed door meeting.
The brown pen, which local newspaper Donga Ilbo said uses MonAmi’s nib, features engravings of a Korean traditional phoenix that was handmade by Seoul-based firm Zenyle.
“That’s a nice pen,” Trump said in a video. “The writing is beautiful, the thickness.” In jest, Trump also asked his aides to “grab that pen” for him.Myung promptly gifted the pen to Trump, telling him that “it will be useful in his complicated signature!”
Zenyle confirmed on its website that it produced the pen on the South Korean presidential office’s request. The firm has suspended pen sales entirely as orders have surged. The pen that President Lee used is not for sale, Zenyle added.
During the summit, Lee agreed to stick to terms of a recent tariff agreement with the US and work together with Trump’s administration on North Korea, collective security and shipbuilding. The meeting was also followed by news that Korean Air Lines Co. plans to order more than 100 Boeing Co. jets.
Shares of MonAmi Co. have cooled from the highs of the day, after jumping to the highest level in 19 months, but continue to trade with gains of over 17%.
(With Inputs From Agencies.)
