Lee to embark on 5-day trip Monday to attend UN General Assembly

President Lee Jae Myung will fly to the United States Monday to attend the United Nations General Assembly, hold bilateral talks with leaders there, and meet financiers of South Korea and the US, before returning home Friday.

Lee will be giving a speech at the 80th UN General Assembly on the first day of the weeklong general debate Tuesday, and chair an open debate of the UN Security Council on Wednesday — a first for a South Korean leader. The president is also scheduling meetings with leaders of the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Poland and Uzbekistan, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said in a briefing Friday.

The bilateral meetings will primarily revolve around ways to cooperate in the field of defense industry and infrastructure, according to Wi.

However, he ruled out chances of Lee meeting US President Donald Trump or outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Lee and Trump met for the first time at the White House in late August to discuss a trade deal, the working-level negotiations of which are still underway. Wi noted that Lee and Trump may meet in October, when South Korea hosts the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.

Lee will also meet BlackRock CEO Larry Fink to discuss artificial intelligence and energy transition on Monday, and on Tuesday, address peace on the Korean Peninsula with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. On Thursday, he is scheduled to convene a meeting with Korean and US financial professionals to shed light on his efforts to address chronic downsides in the domestic stock market, often called the "Korea Discount." Wi did not reveal who is participating in the meeting with financiers.

Lee's trip next week will allow Lee to "make his multilateral diplomatic debut," said Wi. This is Lee's second appearance at a multilateral meeting, following one at the Group of Seven summit in Canada just a few weeks after his inauguration.

Wi also said Cha Ji-hoon, a lawyer who defended President Lee in one of his criminal cases, will start his term as the new South Korean ambassador to the United Nations in Lee's upcoming trip.