Nuclear-Powered Submarine Push, Restoration of Korea-China Ties... "Maximizing Diplomatic Power" [One Year of the Lee Jae-myung Administration]

The first year of the Lee Jae-myung administration is being assessed as a year that showcased the full extent of South Korea's diplomatic power. Since taking office, President Lee Jae Myung has attended the UN General Assembly, the ASEAN Summit, the Group of Twenty (G20) summit, and the Group of Seven (G7) summit in succession over the past year. He also successfully hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on the 20th, the Lee Jae-myung administration made visits to 15 countries and held more than 45 summit meetings over the past year, starting soon after it took office. At the summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, it secured progress on a long-standing security goal: the introduction of a South Korean nuclear-powered submarine and a path to obtaining enrichment and reprocessing capabilities for peaceful purposes.
It also fully restored Korea–China relations by arranging reciprocal state visits within the shortest period in the region, following Xi Jinping, President of China, making a state visit to South Korea after 11 years and South Korea's top leader visiting China at the start of the year.
With Japan, it quickly restored shuttle diplomacy with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. It also held the first vice minister-level foreign affairs and defense 2+2 meeting. The administration has also worked to expand markets, including by pushing for accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). It has also demonstrated leadership as a responsible global power in the international community.
President Lee became the first South Korean leader to preside over a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting. As chair of APEC, he led future-oriented agendas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and demographic change. He was also formally invited to the G7 summit this year, following an invitation last year.
In April, President Lee visited India, a leading country in the Global South, in the shortest period after a new administration took office, and discussed ways to expand economic cooperation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in shipbuilding, energy, finance, and AI. In Vietnam, which he visited next, the two sides agreed to strengthen strategic economic cooperation in infrastructure and nuclear power plants. Earlier this year, leaders from G7 countries such as Italy and, more recently, France, as well as European leaders including the prime minister of Poland, visited South Korea. Visits by the presidents of Indonesia and Brazil, key regional hubs, and the president's trips to Singapore and the Philippines also took place in this context. South Korea will also host the first Korea-Central Asia Summit in Seoul in September. It carries major symbolic significance as the first summit between Central Asia and a South Korean government.
There were also challenges. When a scam case emerged in Cambodia, the government launched a crackdown operation that included rescuing South Korean victims detained in Southeast Asia and bringing members of the fraud ring back on a chartered flight. In the Georgia factory incident, more than 300 South Koreans were detained and later released by U.S. immigration authorities at a construction site for a South Korean conglomerate's plant in the United States. Although tensions arose over investment in the United States and visa issues, the government used its diplomatic leverage to resolve the matter smoothly. It also devoted all-out efforts to ensuring the safety of South Korean ships and residents stranded in the Strait of Hormuz after the Iran war.
rainman@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-soo Reporter