Lee, Macron to broaden security and high-tech partnership at Paris summit

President Lee Jae Myung will meet French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris next week, seeking broader cooperation on security and frontier technologies, including artificial intelligence and nuclear energy, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday. Lee will visit Nice and Paris from Sunday through Wednesday at Macron’s invitation. Macron proposed the state visit and invited Lee to co-chair the Lumiere Summit in Nice during his trip to Seoul in April. On Monday, Lee will co-chair the inaugural Lumiere Summit,

2026-09-04 15:09:11:00

Seoul reviews Hormuz troop deployment among options, no decision yet

South Korea is reviewing the possible deployment of military personnel to the Strait of Hormuz as one of several options to help ensure safe passage through the waterway, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday. A senior presidential official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said any deployment would be assessed based on two key considerations: defense readiness posture on the Korean Peninsula and domestic legal requirements. The official stressed that no decision has been made. The remarks came after loc

2026-09-04 12:55:36:00

Lee calls for closing pension loopholes for foreign, naturalized recipients

President Lee Jae Myung ordered officials Thursday to tighten South Korea’s national and basic pension systems to curb improper benefit claims enabled by loopholes in the programs. Lee’s instruction came amid growing scrutiny of cases in which foreign nationals and newly naturalized citizens have received pension benefits under rules that have raised questions about fairness. Lee further noted that one such case has been identified, but added that there appear to be quite a few cases in which fo

2026-09-03 17:58:46:00

Lee pledges to build on Trump opening for US-N. Korea dialogue

President Lee Jae Myung pledged Wednesday to create conditions for renewed US-North Korea dialogue, as he seeks to turn US President Donald Trump’s latest overtures to Pyongyang into an opening for diplomacy. Lee underlined that South Korea must break the inter-Korean deadlock and move the peninsula beyond its decades-old armistice toward a lasting peace regime in his address to Americas-based members of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council. “As President Trump’s determination has created a

2026-09-02 17:47:35:00

Korea, Japan discuss chip, AI cooperation in economic security dialogue

South Korea and Japan held high-level economic security dialogue to discuss closer cooperation in artificial intelligence, semiconductors and supply chains, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Kim Sung-youl, presidential secretary for economic security, and Takeshi Soda, Cabinet councilor at Japan’s National Security Secretariat, led their respective delegations at the fifth Korea-Japan Economic Security Dialogue in Tokyo on Tuesday. “At the meeting, Korea and Japan assessed the economic security enviro

2026-09-01 18:26:26:00

Lee orders clear chain of responsibility for missing person cases

President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday instructed Prime Minister Han Seong-sook to overhaul the system for handling missing-person cases, underscoring the importance of establishing clear lines of ultimate responsibility in the process. Lee's instruction came amid mounting controversy over two missing person cases on Jeju Island that a police officer allegedly closed on fabricated grounds after falsely recording that contact had been made with the individuals. Both were later found dead in separate

2026-09-01 14:05:05:00

Lee’s top policy adviser Kim Yong-beom resigns

President Lee Jae Myung has accepted the resignation of Kim Yong-beom, his top policy adviser and a key architect of the administration’s economic and financial agenda, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. Senior presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said Kim tendered his resignation Monday and that Lee accepted it the following day. Kang did not immediately elaborate on the reasons for Kim’s offer to step down, but the move comes amid mounting pressure over tax and other economic policies. Kim’s is the

2026-09-01 10:00:26:00

NK reshuffles military command around arms production, discipline

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has carried out a sweeping reshuffle of the country’s military leadership, bringing back a veteran heavyweight and recasting several senior posts. The shake-up restored veteran Park Jong-chon to the No. 2 post and moved Defense Minister No Kwang-chol — who held the equivalent post during Kim’s summit diplomacy with the US during President Donald Trump’s first term — to the Party Central Committee’s Munitions Industry Department. The changes were announced at the s

2026-08-30 13:47:26:00

Lee replaces 6 ministers, fills key AI roles in year-two reset

President Lee Jae Myung reshuffled his Cabinet on Sunday, replacing six ministers as he moved to reset his administration for its second year. The shake-up also filled monthslong vacancies in key presidential AI posts and created a new advisory role to oversee the Lee administration’s flagship megaprojects in semiconductors and AI. The most notable changes occurred in Lee’s economic policy team at a delicate juncture: The government is grappling with high interest rates, persistent inflation and

2026-08-30 13:26:36:00

Seoul scrambles to respond to Nepal floods

President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday ordered the mobilization of all available resources to search for and rescue South Koreans who remain out of contact or stranded after Wednesday's flash floods in northern Nepal. “We have had to convene an unscheduled emergency meeting. The safety and lives of our citizens are in a very serious situation,” Lee said in his opening remarks at an emergency meeting at the Foreign Ministry’s situation room in Seoul. “Nine of our citizens who were working at a hydro

2026-08-27 11:50:23:00