President Lee Jae Myung will dispatch a special delegation to China from Sunday to Wednesday, overlapping with his first trips to Japan and the United States for summit meetings, Seoul's presidential office announced Friday.
The special delegation will be led by Park Byeong-seug, former speaker of the National Assembly, along with Reps. Kim Tae-nyeon and Park Jeung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Ro Jae-hun, president of the East Asia Culture Center.
The delegation will deliver a private letter from Lee to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said during a televised press briefing.
“The letter conveys President Lee’s view that Korea–China relations should be developed in a way that makes tangible contributions to the livelihoods of the people of both countries,” Kang added.
However, Kang said that talks between Lee’s special envoys and Xi are unlikely to take place in light of difficulties in coordinating schedules.
Kang further explained that the special envoys will “convey President Lee Jae-myung’s message on the direction of developing ties between Korea and China, and on ways to increase favorable sentiment toward each other’s country” to the Chinese side.
The delegation is scheduled to meet key figures, including Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday, followed by Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng and Zhao Leji, chair of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee — China’s top legislative body — on Tuesday.
"The special delegation will convey our government’s commitment to continuing the mature development of the Korea–China strategic cooperative partnership, while also engaging in broad discussions on ways to promote active exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in various fields, including the economy, culture and people-to-people exchanges," Kang said.
Kang stated that China is the 12th country to which the Lee administration has dispatched a special delegation, excluding the US and Japan, both of which Lee is scheduled to visit in the coming days.
The timing of Seoul’s announcement is noteworthy. It came a day before Lee is set to depart for Tokyo for his summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Saturday, and ahead of his trip to Washington for his first in-person meeting with US President Donald Trump on Monday.
The visit by Lee’s special delegation to China will overlap with Lee’s trip to Japan from Saturday to Sunday and his visit to the US from Sunday to Tuesday.
In a parallel development, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik on Friday confirmed his attendance at China’s Sept. 3 commemoration marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, at the official invitation of the Chinese government.
Woo’s office also said the delegation was formed mainly around the Korea–China Parliamentary Friendship Association, with lawmakers who have a deep understanding of bilateral relations joining the visit to China.
The delegation for the Sept. 3 commemoration includes Reps. Park Jie-won, Kim Tae-nyeon, Park Jeung and Hong Kee-won of the Democratic Party, as well as Rep. Kim Sung-won of the main opposition People Power Party and Rep. Kim Joon-hyung of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party.
dagyumji@heraldcorp.com
