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President Lee skips firefighters luncheon due to fatigue

Published: 05 Nov. 2025, 14:06

President Lee Jae Myung reviews documents while receiving briefings from ministries during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, on Nov. 4. [YONHAP]

President Lee Jae Myung skipped a scheduled luncheon with firefighters on Wednesday, citing fatigue after an intense round of recent diplomatic engagements, according to his office earlier that day.

The presidential office said in a notice on Wednesday morning that Kang Hoon-sik, the chief of staff, would attend the event on the president’s behalf. Lee had originally planned to host the firefighters himself at the presidential office.

“The schedule was adjusted due to lingering effects of a cold,” the presidential office official said.

Lee has been engaged in diplomatic events since Oct. 26 — most notably the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summits, for which he attended 15 bilateral meetings and four official luncheons and dinners.

During the Asean meetings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Lee joined the Korea-Asean and Asean Plus Three summits, met local Korean residents and held individual talks with foreign leaders.

After returning to Korea, Lee prepared for and participated in the APEC summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, where he met leaders from 13 countries, including the United States, China and Japan. The APEC gathering was seen as a key venue for discussing tariff negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump, and officials said Lee devoted considerable time to shaping his strategy for those talks. He also met IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang during the summit.

The president’s diplomatic schedule continued even after APEC. On Sunday, he held a summit and luncheon with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, upgrading bilateral ties to a “strategic partnership.”

On Tuesday, he delivered a budget speech for fiscal year 2026 at the National Assembly before chairing a Cabinet meeting. Later that day, he met U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to discuss the transfer of wartime operational control and the introduction of nuclear-powered submarines.

During Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, Lee said, “I've caught a cold, so my voice isn't in good condition. Please understand,” and repeatedly cleared his throat during the session.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]