Main liberal Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Rep. Lee Jae-myung on Sunday expressed doubts over whether he might attend the upcoming NATO summit scheduled for June 24-26 in the Netherlands.
While not definitive, Lee’s remarks hint at a potentially more cautious approach compared to now ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol's stance on developing South Korea's relationship with NATO member countries.
"Given the chaotic and complicated situation within the country right now, I don't know. I'm worried whether I absolutely must attend the NATO summit, unless the summit addresses specific current issues (of concern)," the front-runner in the presidential race told reporters at a press conference in Seoul.
Lee added that his first priority lies in domestic issues, such as reviving the economy for ordinary people, rather than in the handling of foreign affairs, which will come later.
His remarks show a contrast with Yoon's eager participation in the NATO summit for three straight years until 2024, alongside the other "Indo-Pacific Four" partners -- Japan, New Zealand and Australia -- as well as the 32 NATO member countries.
NATO had invited then-President Yoon to NATO summits including the IP4 for three consecutive years starting in 2022 — the first case of a South Korean president being invited to attend, following its decision to invite the IP4 leaders in 2022.
Most recently, Seoul had touted Yoon's appearance at the NATO summit in July 2024 as a means to send a strong message against the military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.
The transatlantic alliance has acknowledged since 2022 the need to team up with Indo-Pacific partners to address "shared security challenges" as it suspected a growing alignment between China and Russia concerning the Russia-Ukraine war, to which North Korean troops have been deployed.
The remarks, at the first press conference held since he declared his bid to run for president in April, came with the expectation that South Korea's newly-elected leader in the June 3 election will likely head straight into a busy month diplomatically. The new president is expected to take office immediately without a transition period.
Polls have suggested that Lee has been consistently ahead of the other candidates -- including the main conservative People Power Party's Kim Moon-soo and minor conservative New Reform Party's Rep. Lee Jun-seok -- in the race.
The Democratic Party's Lee said that he believed the government has yet to receive a formal invitation to attend the Group of Seven summit June 15-17 in Canada. "It seems it's not a matter I should immediately take into consideration," Lee said.
South Korea was not invited to the 2024 G7 summit held in Italy June 13-15. During Yoon's shortened term since 2022, Yoon was invited once to G7 summit in Japan among the three summits that occurred annually during his time in office.
Regarding the looming deadline for the 90-day suspension of US President Donald Trump's imposition of additional "reciprocal" tariffs -- 25 percent on most South Korean goods in addition to "baseline" tariffs of 10 percent -- Lee said that any talks about Seoul's trade with Washington, if he is elected, must involve "a procedure to navigate what is mutually beneficial based on mutual respect, fairness and trust," adding Seoul would "not have to be bound by" Washington's unilaterally suggested deadline of July 9.
Urgent domestic issues first
Lee, who lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election by the thinnest margin in South Korean history, was the main opposition party leader during Yoon's term and played a central role in rallying support for the parliament's annulment of Yoon's martial law declaration in December 2024 and for Yoon's impeachment.
As for his approach to North Korea, he said he would distance himself from the Yoon administration's hard-line stance toward the reclusive country, adding dialogue, negotiation and cooperation must be involved while maintaining strong military readiness on the foundation of the Seoul-Washington alliance.
Regarding the main liberal party's push for judiciary reform -- in the wake of the Supreme Court's recent unprecedentedly fast ruling that found Lee guilty of spreading false information during his candidacy for the 2022 presidential election -- Lee said, while it is important, now is not the right time to discuss nonurgent issues. Lee also urged caution about a proposal within the party to expand the 14-member bench of the Supreme Court to 30 and allow those who are not lawyers to be eligible to become justices.
During the press conference, Lee pledged to grant the parliament -- in which his party holds the majority of seats -- the power to recommend a candidate for prime minister and to nominate the chiefs of the prosecution, the Korean National Police Agency and the Korea Communications Commission, the broadcast watchdog. He also said he would activate a national system for the people to make recommendations for public officials as well as limit presidents' authority to veto bills.
Lee pledged he would establish an emergency economic response task force led by the president to seek an economic rebound and boost government spending to handle the recovery of people's livelihoods and small businesses, as well as full state support for cutting-edge industries such as AI.
consnow@heraldcorp.com
