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Lee to visit Kuala Lumpur to attend Asean summit on Oct. 26 and 27

Published: 24 Oct. 2025, 15:06

President Lee Jae Myung waves as he enters EXCO in Daegu for a town hall meeting on Oct. 24. [YONHAP]

President Lee Jae Myung will make a two-day trip to Malaysia to attend a regional summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), the presidential office said Friday, marking his first visit to Southeast Asia since taking office in June.

Lee is set to depart Sunday for Kuala Lumpur to attend the Asean summit, where he plans to discuss ways to enhance Korea's Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the 10-member bloc, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac told reporters.

On Monday, Lee will outline his vision for strengthening cooperation with the regional bloc during the Asean summit and then participate in the Asean Plus Three summit involving Korea, Japan and China.

At this year's summit, Korea will seek closer cooperation in strategic areas, such as artificial intelligence, and discuss ways to jointly tackle online scams, Wi said, amid rising concerns over an increasing number of crimes targeting Koreans in Southeast Asia.

Lee has vowed to strengthen international cooperation to combat transnational crimes following the torture and death of a Korean college student who was lured into a scam center in Cambodia, an incident that has sparked widespread public outrage.

Lee will also explore ways to establish a "virtuous cycle" of trilateral cooperation among Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo through the Asean forum and share his vision for peace on the Korean Peninsula, with the goal of securing Asean members' "support and constructive contributions" to his initiatives, Wi noted.

During the U.N. General Assembly last month, Lee unveiled his vision to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and improve inter-Korean relations through what he called the "END" initiative, which stands for "exchange," "normalization" and "denuclearization."

On the sidelines of the gathering, Lee will hold talks with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Monday to discuss the strategic partnership between the nations and pending issues, including online scam crimes, Wi said.

Later the same day, Lee will meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to discuss ways to deepen the strategic partnership and strengthen practical cooperation in trade, investment, infrastructure and the defense industry, he noted.

Yonhap