Italy, G7 Chair This Year, Does Not Invite Korea
Another No-Show Following This Month's Foreign Ministers' Meeting
Presidential Office: "Unrelated to Our Diplomatic Policy"
President Yoon Suk-yeol is organizing documents after finishing his remarks at the Cabinet meeting held on the 16th at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]
It has been revealed that President Yoon Suk-yeol was not invited to the Group of Seven (G7) summit to be held in Italy from June 13 to 15.
A diplomatic source said on the 19th, "South Korea was not included among the invited countries to the G7 summit in Puglia, Italy, in June."
The G7 is a group of advanced countries consisting of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, and Canada. Each year, the chair country is selected on a rotating basis, and the chair country has the discretion to invite non-G7 countries and leaders of international organizations to the summit.
This year, Italy is the chair country. According to major foreign media, the summit will invite the G20 'troika' countries (the host countries of last year’s, this year’s, and next year’s G20 meetings) India, Brazil, and South Africa, as well as Argentina, Egypt, Tunisia, Kenya, and Algeria.
South Korea was invited to the G7 summit three times since 2020 (in 2020, 2021, and 2023), but was not invited this time.
A diplomatic source explained, "Italy, which is facing domestic refugee issues, mainly invited countries from Africa and the Middle East," adding, "In the case of Argentina, there has been a special relationship with Italy since the past."
The Yoon Suk-yeol administration has been striving in diplomacy, advocating to be a 'global pivotal state,' but it has left some regrets as it was not invited to this summit. South Korea was also not invited to the ongoing G7 foreign ministers' meeting.
A senior official from the presidential office said regarding the lack of invitation to the G7 summit, "It has nothing to do with our diplomatic stance," and explained, "Since we are not a G7 country, it is impossible to attend every time, and especially this time, there are no invitees from the Asia-Pacific region except for India, which is a troika country.
The government did not attend this month’s foreign ministers' meeting but is reported to have a high possibility of attending the foreign ministers' meeting scheduled for November."
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