President Yoon Holds First Dinner with Former President Lee Myung-bak and Spouses at the Residence

Sharing Nuclear Power Plant Contracting Know-How... Discussing Current Political Issues

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 12th, President Yoon Suk-yeol invited former President Lee Myung-bak to the Hannam-dong residence for a dinner with their spouses. This was the first time President Yoon had dinner with former President Lee since taking office.

The Presidential Office announced that "the dinner with President Yoon, First Lady Kim Keon-hee, former President Lee, and former First Lady Kim Yoon-ok began around 6:30 PM." Also attending the dinner was Presidential Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok, who served as the Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Blue House during the Lee Myung-bak administration.

President Yoon met former President Lee when Lee paid respects at the funeral of Yoon's late father, Yoon Ki-jung, an honorary professor at Yonsei University, in August last year. Earlier, at the end of 2022, President Yoon granted a special New Year's pardon, restoring the rights of former President Lee.

During the dinner, President Yoon and former President Lee exchanged views on various current political issues, and President Yoon reportedly sought Lee's opinions on state affairs management.

In particular, President Yoon attentively listened to the various know-how related to the UAE nuclear power plant project secured during former President Lee's tenure, and sought advice on nuclear power, defense exports, and resource diplomacy. Given that Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power was recently selected as the preferred negotiator for the Czech nuclear power plant construction project, it is expected that much discussion took place.

Former President Lee, who has a background as a business executive, focused on nuclear power, defense exports, and resource diplomacy during his administration, including leading the UAE nuclear power plant project. A ruling party official stated, "Following the Czech project, as efforts are concentrated on securing additional nuclear power projects, we will share former President Lee's experience in nuclear power exports and discuss future industrial development plans."