President Lee sets off for G7 summit to make international debut

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President Lee sets off for G7 summit to make international debut

Published: 16 Jun. 2025, 16:58 Updated: 17 Jun. 2025, 12:53

SARAH KIM
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

President Lee Jae-myung, right, and first lady Kim Hye-kyung greet onlookers at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, before boarding the presidential jet bound for Canada on June 16. [YONHAP]

President Lee Jae-myung began a three-day trip to Canada on Monday to attend the Group of 7, or G7, summit, to make his debut on the diplomatic stage and build bonds with global leaders.

In attending the summit, Lee is expected to “form a bond with the leaders of each country and lay the foundation for achieving tangible results on current issues, including trade issues,” said presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung in a press briefing at the Yongsan presidential office on Monday.

In particular, he is expected to “elevate the status of Korea by informing the world of the greatness of our people who overcame martial law and of the power of our democracy,” she added.

Kang said Lee ordered presidential staffers and other public officials to “make every effort to ensure stable and smooth state administration” for the time he is away.

Lee and first lady Kim Hye-kyung departed from the Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, at around 4:30 p.m. to head to Calgary, Alberta, in their first overseas engagement since Lee’s victory in the June 3 presidential election.

The summit comes amid an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, which is expected to top the agenda, along with Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump’s unresolved trade war.

After arriving in Calgary, Lee is scheduled to hold a series of bilateral meetings with leaders attending the G7 gathering. On Tuesday, Lee will attend an expanded session in the remote resort town of Kananaskis and deliver speeches addressing the diversification of energy supply chains and the integration of AI and energy systems.

There is interest in Lee's first encounters with U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Lee and Trump in their first phone call on June 6 agreed to “work together to quickly reach an agreement that satisfies both sides regarding the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations as soon as possible.”

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said in a press briefing at the Yongsan presidential office on Sunday that Lee’s G7 debut will be an opportunity to “pursue practical diplomacy to protect our national interests amid the major changes in the global economic and security environment."

The presidential office has left open the possibility of a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Along with the seven major industrialized countries — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney invited the leaders of countries including Korea, Australia, India, Mexico and Ukraine to the summit.

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]