▲ President Lee Jae-myung and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung wave to well-wishers as they board the presidential aircraft at Rome Fiumicino Airport on June 16 (local time) after concluding their state visit to Italy.
President Lee Jae-myung has departed for France to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit after concluding his state visit to Italy and the Vatican.
President Lee and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung boarded the presidential aircraft at Rome Fiumicino Airport on the morning of June 16 (local time), receiving a send-off from officials including Maria Tripodi, Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Italy.
President Lee is scheduled to travel to Evian, France, where he will participate in the G7 summit's expanded sessions and welcome events over the next two days.
Attention is focused on whether a bilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump will take place during the summit.
However, a high-ranking official from the Presidential Office maintained a cautious stance, stating, "We are keeping the possibility open, but it is difficult to say that there has been any concrete progress."
Just before his departure, President Lee wrote on his social media, "It feels like just yesterday that I attended the G7 summit immediately after my inauguration in June last year to show the world a South Korea that has restored its democracy, and already a year has passed."
He added, "Being invited to the summit for two consecutive years is a very meaningful sign of the international community's trust and expectations for South Korea," and stated, "I plan to engage in in-depth discussions with leaders from G7 member states and invited countries on key issues of our time, such as international solidarity, growth for all, and the development direction of AI and future technologies."
He also pledged, "South Korea is no longer a country that follows change, but a country that creates change and leads the future," adding, "I will proudly convey our strengthened potential and confidence on the world stage and return."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.