President Lee Jae-myung (right), then-presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, meets Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong at the tech giant's chip complex in Gyeonggi Province in March. (Yonhap)
President Lee Jae-myung (right), then-presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, meets Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong at the tech giant's chip complex in Gyeonggi Province in March. (Yonhap)

President Lee Jae-myung is expected to meet with the heads of top conglomerates and major economic organizations later this week to review economic issues ahead of his trip to Canada for the Group of Seven summit.

According to industry sources on Tuesday, the presidential office is coordinating a meeting as early as Thursday or Friday. Final details and participants are yet to be confirmed.

The chiefs of the top five chaebols are expected to attend, including Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong; SK Group Chair Chey Tae-won, who heads the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun; LG Group Chair Koo Kwang-mo and Lotte Group Chair Shin Dong-bin.

Leaders of major business lobbies are also expected to join, including Ryu Jin, chair of the Federation of Korean Industries; Sohn Kyung-shik, chair of the Korea Enterprises Federation; Yoon Jin-sik, chair of the Korea International Trade Association; Kim Ki-moon, chair of the Korea Federation of SMEs; and Choi Jin-shik, chair of the Federation of Middle Market Enterprises of Korea.

The gathering appears to be aimed at assessing both domestic and global economic trends and listening to the concerns of the business community, especially ahead of President Lee's attendance at the G7 summit in Alberta, Canada, from June 15-17.

While South Korea is not a G7 member state, it has been invited to the expanded sessions in recent years.

On the sidelines of the summit, Lee may hold bilateral talks with US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. A trilateral summit between the three could also take place.

President Lee has made economic recovery his top priority and formed an emergency economic task force on his first day in office.

The upcoming meeting with leaders of chaebols and business lobbies is expected to cover strategies to boost domestic investment and stimulate the local economy. The discussions could also touch on growing concerns over US tariffs and their impact on South Korea's export-dependent industries.


sahn@heraldcorp.com