Lee Jae-myung attends G7 summit 11 days after inauguration

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will attend the G7 summit in Alberta, Canada, just 11 days after his inauguration, marking the fastest overseas trip by a South Korean leader. Invited by Canada, the host country, Lee will participate as an observer from June 11 to 17.

During the summit, President Lee plans to hold bilateral or trilateral talks with the United States and Japan. This will be the first face-to-face meeting between South Korean and U.S. leaders since November, when former President Yoon Suk-yeol met U.S. President Joe Biden at the APEC summit in Peru.

The possibility of a separate meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump has also attracted attention. The two leaders agreed during a recent phone call to meet “as soon as possible,” either on the sidelines of a multilateral summit or through a bilateral visit, to discuss strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

Expected discussion topics include South Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations and cooperation on security challenges from North Korea, China, and Russia. According to presidential spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung, both leaders will work toward reaching a mutually acceptable tariff agreement.

However, the Presidential Office is reportedly considering skipping the NATO summit on June 24, despite South Korea’s invitation as an Indo-Pacific partner country. NATO has annually invited four partner countries since 2022 as it addresses growing concerns about China’s influence.


Hoon-Sang Park tigermask@donga.com · Kyu-Jin Shin newjin@donga.com