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World leaders congratulate Lee Jae-myung on election win, voice hopes of collaboration

Published: 04 Jun. 2025, 14:01 Updated: 04 Jun. 2025, 19:12

SEO JI-EUN
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U.S. President Donald Trump, left, welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to the White House in Washington on Feb. 7. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Leaders worldwide congratulated Lee Jae-myung on his presidential election victory on Wednesday.

The United States, Korea's key ally, issued a message underscoring alliance strength but laced with warnings while top leaders of the neighboring China and Japan offered direct and unambiguous congratulations.

“The U.S.-ROK Alliance remains ironclad,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday, referring to Korea using the acronym for its official name.

“While Korea had a free and fair election,” the spokesperson continued, “the United States remains concerned and opposed to Chinese interference and influence in democracies around the world.”

The explicit reference to Chinese interference in the context of Korea's election was notably unusual, drawing analyses that Washington may be indirectly signaling to Seoul's new administration a need to maintain distance from Beijing. The United States increasingly views China as its primary strategic competitor and major geopolitical challenge.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue on May 31, warned that allies attempting to pursue economic cooperation with China while maintaining security cooperation with the United States “complicates defense decision space.”

Lee and Trump may hold their first in-person meeting at either the Group of 7 Summit in Canada, which runs from June 15 to 17, or the NATO summit in the Netherlands, which is June 24 to 25.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also congratulated Lee, affirming the strong ties between the two nations.

“We congratulate President Lee Jae-myung on his election as the next president of the Republic of Korea,” Rubio said in a statement.

“The United States and the Republic of Korea share an ironclad commitment to the alliance grounded in our Mutual Defense Treaty, shared values and deep economic ties,” he added.

He further emphasized the modernization of the alliance to meet current strategic demands and the importance of trilateral cooperation with Japan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he leaves Red Square after the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9 commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. [AFP/YONHAP]

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Lee, describing Korea as an “important neighbor” as well as a “cooperative partner” and emphasizing his strong commitment to advancing bilateral relations.

Xi was quoted by the state media Xinhua Agency as saying that over the past 33 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two sides have “transcended differences in ideology and social systems, worked hand in hand, achieved mutual success and achieved the steady and healthy development of bilateral relations.”

Xi further emphasized that he “attaches great importance” to the development of the bilateral relations.

“At present, the world is undergoing a century-long transformation, and uncertainties are increasing in the international and regional situations,” Xi was quoted as saying. “As an important country in the world and the region, China is willing to work with Korea to stick to the original intention of establishing diplomatic relations, stay committed to the direction of good-neighborly friendship and adhere to the goal of mutual benefit and win-win results, so as to jointly promote the continuous development of the China-ROK strategic cooperative partnership and better benefit the people of the two countries.”

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed his hopes for an early summit.

While speaking to press, Ishiba expressed his respect for the democratic choice of the Korean people and a desire to hold exchanges “more actively” this year, which marks the 60th anniversary of normalized diplomatic relations between the two nations, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Ishiba emphasized the importance of Korea-Japan summit meetings “as soon as possible” and further underscored the significance of regular “Shuttle diplomacy” with the two leaders visiting each other's countries for dialogue regardless of changes in the Korean administration.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Lee via social media.

“Look forward to working together to further expand and strengthen the India-ROK Special Strategic Partnership,” Modi wrote on social media.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also extended congratulations to Lee via social media.

“Australia looks forward to working closely with you under our comprehensive strategic partnership,” Albanese wrote. “Together, we can strengthen our trade and investment ties and promote a stable and prosperous region.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen added, “Our partnership is built on shared values and common interests, including trade, innovation and defence.

“Together, we can lead on a rules-based global order, free and fair trade, and a free and open Indo-Pacific,” she wrote. “The next Korea-EU summit will be an opportunity to take all these efforts further.”

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te posted congratulatory messages to Lee both in English and Korean on his social media.

“For decades, Taiwan and South Korea have enjoyed a strong friendship, with our historical trajectories and paths to democracy closely interconnected,” he wrote. “We look forward to building on these ties to enhance regional peace and growth.”

Lee is expected to hold phone calls with global leaders, including the United States, China and Japan, later in the day.

Update, June 4, 2025: Added Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi's congratulatory message.

Update, June 4, 2025: Added President of China Xi Jinping's congratulatory message.

Update, June 4, 2025:Added more congratulatory messages from the leaders of Australia, the EU and Taiwan.

BY SEO JI-EUN [[email protected]]