President Lee to Pay State Visits to Singapore and the Philippines from March 1 to 4

After attending the Group of Twenty (G20) leaders' summit and completing a four-country tour of Africa and the Middle East, President Lee Jaemyung and First Lady Kim Hyekyung arrived at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on the 26th and are disembarking from Air Force One. 2025.11.26 Photo by Yoon Dongju

President Lee Jaemyung will pay state visits to Singapore and the Philippines from March 1 to 4.

Presidential Spokesperson Kang Yoojung said in a written briefing on the 27th that President Lee will visit Singapore from March 1 to 3 next month and hold a summit with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. He will also attend a state banquet hosted by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. While in Singapore, President Lee will participate in the "AI Connect Summit" and hold discussions with artificial intelligence (AI) leaders from both countries.

Spokesperson Kang explained, "Singapore is a hub for transportation, logistics, and finance that leads the regional free trade order, and Korea and Singapore established a strategic partnership last year to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations," adding, "On the occasion of this state visit, the two countries are expected to further strengthen existing cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, and infrastructure, while also expanding the scope of cooperation into future promising sectors such as AI and nuclear power."

On the 3rd, President Lee will travel to Manila in the Philippines for a two-day visit, during which he will hold a summit meeting and attend a state banquet and a business forum with President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. The presidential office plans to use this summit as an opportunity to elevate the level of cooperation in areas such as defense industry, infrastructure, and trade, and to strengthen the foundation for cooperation in future promising sectors including nuclear power, shipbuilding, critical minerals, and AI.

Spokesperson Kang stressed, "The Philippines is a traditional ally, being the first country in Southeast Asia to establish diplomatic relations with us, and the first Asian country to send the largest contingent of troops to the Korean War," and added, "In particular, March 3, when the Korea-Philippines summit will be held, is a meaningful day marking the 77th anniversary of diplomatic relations."

Spokesperson Kang said, "Based on the bonds and trust between President Lee and the leaders of Singapore and the Philippines, we will promote strategic cooperation with these two countries in areas of mutual interest," adding, "We expect to produce outcomes that the peoples of both sides can tangibly feel and to further strengthen cooperation on the international stage."

She went on to explain, "These bilateral visits to the Philippines, which holds the ASEAN chairmanship this year, and to Singapore, which will hold it next year, will serve as an important opportunity to flesh out and begin full-fledged implementation of the CSP vision declared at last year's Korea-ASEAN summit."

CSP refers to our diplomatic vision toward ASEAN, which aims to be a Contributor that helps realize dreams and hopes, a Springboard for growth and innovation, and a Partner for peace and stability.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.