President Lee Jaemyung departed for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on October 26 to attend his first ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit since taking office.
On the morning of the 26th, President Lee, accompanied by First Lady Kim Hye-kyung, left for Malaysia from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, aboard the presidential jet, Air Force One. President Lee wore a gray suit with a blue and gray striped tie, while First Lady Kim followed behind in a light pink jacket and skirt.
At the scene, Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Hojoong, Democratic Party leader Jung Chungrae, and Democratic Party floor leader Kim Byungki saw President Lee off. From the presidential office, Chief Presidential Secretary Kang Hoonshik was present. In addition, Dato' Mohammad Zamruni bin Khalid, Malaysian Ambassador to Korea, Lee Hyunhee, Commander of the 15th Special Mission Wing of the Air Force, and Park Yoonjoo, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, were also in attendance.
Upon arrival, President Lee is scheduled to hold a dinner meeting with local Korean residents as his first official event. On the following day, the 27th, his schedule will begin with a summit meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet. President Lee plans to discuss bilateral issues, including cooperation in responding to online scam crimes and the development of the Korea-Cambodia strategic partnership. In the morning, he will attend the Korea-ASEAN Summit and the ASEAN+3 Summit consecutively, and in the afternoon, he will meet with Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia and Chair of ASEAN.
After completing his two-day, one-night itinerary, President Lee will return to Korea on the afternoon of the 27th. Although the ASEAN summit continues until the evening of the 27th, he has moved up his return schedule to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju. The remaining schedule will be carried out by Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun and Minister for Trade Negotiations Yeo Hankoo of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Wi Sunglak, Director of National Security at the Presidential Office, explained, "This is President Lee's first participation in an ASEAN-related summit since taking office, and it is expected to further advance the annual trade volume of 200 billion dollars and people-to-people exchanges exceeding 12 million between Korea and ASEAN." He added, "It will also serve as an opportunity to strengthen the Korea-ASEAN relationship as a comprehensive strategic partnership, working together to address regional challenges such as online scam crimes."
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