Lee, Xi share candid moment over selfie

“Would it be all right if we take a photo with this?”

President Lee Jae-myung made the remark to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Jan. 5 after a state banquet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Holding a Chinese-made Xiaomi 15 Ultra smartphone in his right hand, Lee struck a selfie pose, prompting Xi to smile and lean in.

Lee then gestured for his wife, First Lady Kim Hye-kyung, and Xi’s wife, Peng Liyuan, to join them. The two leaders and their spouses went on to take what Lee later described as a South Korea-China leaders’ couples selfie. After reviewing the photo Lee had taken, Xi remarked, “You take photos well. You have good photography skills.” Lee replied, “It was the gift you gave me.”

Lee is known to have activated the Xiaomi smartphone in South Korea before bringing it to Beijing, so he could show it to Xi during their second summit meeting. At their first South Korea-China summit on Nov. 1 last year, Xi presented Lee and his wife with two Xiaomi 15 Ultra smartphones. At the time, Lee asked whether the communications security was reliable, prompting Xi to laugh and respond jokingly that Lee could check for himself whether there was a backdoor.

In an interview with China Central Television, or CCTV, released on Jan. 2, Lee recalled the exchange. He said that although his remark about the phone was partly in jest, Xi’s open and good-natured response left South Korean people with a favorable impression of the Chinese leader’s character.


Hoon-Sang Park tigermask@donga.com