President Lee set to fly to Canada for G7 summit
Lee's meeting with Trump, Ishiba would 'create momentum' for addressing trade challenges; 'might' hold talks with Zelenskyy, according to office
President Lee Jae-myung is poised to travel to Canada on Monday to attend the Group of Seven summit in the Kananaskis region of Canada, South Korea's national security adviser Wi Sung-lac told reporters Sunday.
Invited to the event as a guest after his inauguration on June 4, Lee, the liberal president, is set to return to Seoul on Wednesday evening.
Wi said Lee's bilateral meetings with leaders at the multilateral summit are being coordinated on the margins of the event during his stay on Monday and Tuesday. He said that doing so to build trust with leaders attending the G7 summit comes "in a very timely fashion," but did not elaborate on who Lee's counterparts would be.
Lee's top security aide also said Lee's encounter with US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the upcoming summit would "create momentum" for addressing current economic and trade challenges.
According to a presidential office staffer who declined to be named, Lee's bilateral meeting with Trump in Canada would "provide an impetus for working-level talks" between Seoul and Washington, but the official did not immediately explain how Lee's bilateral or trilateral talks with South Korea's allies would unfold.
During the expanded G7 session Tuesday, Lee will deliver his remarks about energy-related supply chain resilience through diversification and about Seoul's role in forging a global artificial intelligence ecosystem, according to the presidential office.
Lee's delivery of his remark will "allow South Korea to enhance international standing as one of the G7 Plus member countries," Wi said.
The G7 summit is an economic forum comprising Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Union is also a member.
Along with South Korea, this year's event will also feature the leaders of India, Ukraine, Mexico, South Africa and the United Nations.
Wi said Lee's presence at the G7 summit would itself mark a declaration to the world that South Korea had ended the six months of political turmoil following his disgraced predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law imposition in December.
"We are telling the world that South Korea has overcome the crisis in its democracy and that democratic (South Korea) is back," Wi said.
According to the presidential office, Lee "might have a chance" to sit down for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but Lee's office added Seoul was not considering deploying an additional batch of humanitarian aid or loans to Ukraine. Seoul's committments during the conservative Yoon administration are estimated to be worth over $2.5 billion, including those made through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund.
As to the possibilities that the G7 summit could touch on the matter regarding the recent Israel-Iran conflict, the presidential office said Lee's stance on the matter would be based on Seoul's previous statement, which "(urged) all parties concerned to exercise maximum restraint and deescalate tensions" in the Middle East.
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