15-17일 정상회의 초청받아 참석
트럼프·이시바와 깜짝 회동 관심
18일 선거법 환송심은 미뤄질 듯
President Lee Jae-myung has been invited to attend the G7 Summit, which will be held in Canada from the 15th to the 17th (local time). This marks the resumption of summit diplomacy, which had been halted since the December 12-3 martial law crisis. Without a presidential transition committee, the Lee Jae-myung administration has quickly restored Korea’s international status, making its diplomatic debut within two weeks of inauguration.
According to the presidential office on the 8th, President Lee will attend the G7 Summit in Alberta, Canada. The G7 consists of the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and Canada, and the host nation can invite other countries or international organizations for expanded meetings. South Korea was previously invited to the G7 Summits in 2021 and 2023 and has been invited again this year.
President Lee initiated summit diplomacy on the third day of his term with a 20-minute call with US President Donald Trump, and he quickly stepped onto the multilateral diplomatic stage. This will be the first test of President Lee’s “pragmatic diplomacy focused on national interests,” especially given the overlapping concerns of the international community regarding the US’s anti-China policies and tariff wars.
Attention is drawn to President Lee’s specific direction on strengthening the Korea-US alliance and Korea-US-Japan cooperation, which he has consistently emphasized throughout his campaign. The possibility of holding a Korea-US summit is of particular interest. Although President Lee was invited to the US during his call with President Trump, short informal summits have often occurred at multilateral meetings. If President Lee meets with President Trump in Canada, detailed discussions on pressing issues such as the Korea-US tariff negotiations are expected to take place.
The presidential office is also considering sending a special delegation for the Korea-US summit. A presidential office official, when asked about preparations for surprising meetings with US and Japanese leaders at the G7 Summit, responded, “We are coordinating and reviewing everything thoroughly, as it needs to be done properly if it happens.”
A bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is also possible. As President Lee emphasizes Korea-US-Japan cooperation apart from historical issues such as Dokdo and forced labor, this could be an opportunity to gauge the future of Korea-Japan relations under the Lee Jae-myung administration.
Regarding NATO’s summit in The Hague, Netherlands, from the 24th to 25th of this month, President Lee’s participation has not yet been decided.
Meanwhile, the court hearing on President Lee’s public office election law violation, scheduled for the 18th, will likely be postponed due to the G7 Summit schedule.