Yoon Departs for Philippines, Singapore, and Laos Tour... Attends ASEAN Summit (Comprehensive)

First Destination Philippines Arrival and Schedule Completion
Han Dong-hoon, People Power Party Leader, Absent from Farewell Ceremony
Sequential Visits Planned to Singapore and Laos

President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee are boarding Air Force One at Seongnam Seoul Airport on the 6th, greeting as they depart for state visits to the Philippines and Singapore, as well as the ASEAN Summit in Laos.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol departed on the 6th for a state visit to the Philippines and Singapore, as well as to attend the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit held in Laos.

President Yoon and his wife, Kim Geon-hee, left for their first destination, the Philippines, aboard the presidential aircraft, Air Force One, from Seongnam Seoul Airport that morning.

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Hong-gyun, Chief Presidential Secretary Jeong Jin-seok, Policy Chief Sung Tae-yoon, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Hong Cheol-ho, and People Power Party Floor Leader Chu Kyung-ho were present at the airport to see off the presidential couple.

People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon did not attend the send-off ceremony that day. Although he had come to the airport to shake hands and see off President Yoon during the latter’s visit to the Czech Republic on the 19th of last month, he was absent this time citing campaigning for the by-election of the Busan Geumjeong District Office chief as the reason.

Before departure, President Yoon shook hands with those seeing him off and encouraged Minister Lee Sang-min by patting his back.

He boarded Air Force One, waving his hand in greeting. Mrs. Kim also bowed her head in acknowledgment.

First Lady Kim Keon-hee is heading to Air Force One, the presidential aircraft, at Seongnam Seoul Airport on the 6th to accompany President Yoon Suk-yeol on his state visits to the Philippines and Singapore, as well as his attendance at the ASEAN Summit in Laos.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Upon arriving in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, President Yoon will lay a wreath at the Korean War Veterans Memorial and attend a dinner meeting with the Korean community.

On the following day, the 7th, he is scheduled to hold a summit meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos to broadly discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relations.

Immediately after the summit, the two leaders will exchange memorandums of understanding (MOU) and hold a joint press conference.

During the trip, President Yoon will also visit Singapore and Laos.

In Laos, on the 10th, he will attend the ‘Korea-ASEAN Summit’ and the ‘ASEAN+3 (Korea, China, Japan) Summit’ among other meetings.

The Presidential Office stated, "At this ASEAN-related summit, which the president is attending for the third time since taking office, Korea-ASEAN relations will leap to a new level."

In an interview article released before departure by the Associated Press, President Yoon said, "At this ASEAN summit, a clear message will be sent that the international community will not tolerate North Korea’s reckless actions that violate United Nations Security Council resolutions and international norms, threatening peace on the Korean Peninsula, the Indo-Pacific region, and indeed the entire world."

President Yoon Suk-yeol arrived at Seongnam Seoul Airport on the 6th to make a state visit to the Philippines and Singapore and attend the ASEAN Summit in Laos. He is shaking hands with Rep. Choo Kyung-ho, floor leader of the People Power Party, who came to see him off.
[Photo by Yonhap News]