First lady Kim Hea Kyung (left) is greeted by overseas Koreans at Calgary Korean Association in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on Tuesday. (Yonhap)
First lady Kim Hea Kyung (left) is greeted by overseas Koreans at Calgary Korean Association in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

CALGARY, Alberta — President Lee Jae Myung's wife Kim Hea Kyung on Tuesday met some 20 overseas Koreans including students, researchers and a working holiday visa holder on the second day of her trip to Canada.

Kim received a warm welcome from the overseas Koreans at the meeting, held at Calgary Korean Association in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, according to the presidential office.

"I've realized that Koreans living overseas are more keen on news reports about South Korea than we do," Kim said. "I often get surprised when you keep track of all the details about what's happening in Korea through social media or YouTube, and make right decisions."

Two weeks before Kim's visit, Lee won the early presidential election six months after the political turmoil due to ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law declaration took a toll on South Korea. Over 200,000 people voted overseas for the June 3 election.

"Even though you live far away (from South Korea), I feel that the you sincerely care about your home country more than we do," Kim told overseas Koreans, including Kang Young-gu, president of the Korean Society of BC; Choi Jin-young, president of the Calgary Korean Association.

Later on Tuesday, Kim visited National accessArts Center in Calgary, dedicated to supporting artists with disabilities, and met its founding President Ryu Jung-suk.


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