President Lee Jae Myung vowed Friday to see his reform agenda through despite falling public support, pairing a strikingly contrite assessment of his presidency with an insistence that the direction of his government would not change. Across a wide-ranging news conference, Lee returned repeatedly to the same distinction. Lee acknowledged shortcomings in the way he had pursued reform polices while defending the substance of an agenda spanning prosecution reform, constitutional change, housing and

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday ruled out any deployment of South Korean troops or military assets that would involve Seoul in the conflict around the Strait of Hormuz, drawing a firm line around South Korea’s military role in the region. At the same time, Lee stressed that Seoul still had a responsibility to protect Korean ships, oil routes and nationals, as the Korean government weighs expanding the role of a naval unit it has already deployed in the Middle East. Lee said any decision would

President Lee Jae Myung and International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol discussed how to advance energy security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific on Thursday, as the Hormuz crisis exposes the region’s vulnerability to supply shocks. The meeting came as the IEA coordinates an international response to the energy crisis triggered by the Iran war, with South Korea taking part as a full member of the agency. Lee and Birol held “in-depth discussions on global energy and policy trends, ways to streng

President Lee Jae Myung met International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol on Thursday to discuss strengthening Asia-Pacific energy security as the Hormuz crisis exposes the region’s vulnerability to supply shocks. The meeting was arranged in part to follow up on Lee’s proposal, made at the Group of Seven summit in June, to strengthen the resilience of energy supply chains across the Asia-Pacific region, according to the presidential office in Seoul. Lee and Birol were expected to have an in-dept

President Lee Jae Myung called Wednesday for South Korea and five Central Asian nations to forge a “new Silk Road,” seeking to harness their complementary strengths to build a broader economic partnership spanning trade, industry and infrastructure. Speaking at the Korea-Central Asia Business Summit in Seoul, Lee drew on more than a millennium of exchanges between Korea and Central Asia to argue for taking their relationship into a new phase. The business gathering followed the inaugural Korea-C

South Korea and five Central Asian countries on Wednesday laid the foundations for a lasting partnership at their first-ever summit, adopting the Seoul Declaration to institutionalize their ties and map out a shared vision for the next 30 years. President Lee Jae Myung presided over the gathering, which focused on the future direction of Korea-Central Asia cooperation and ways to strengthen partnerships in innovation, prosperity and connectivity. The Seoul summit was the first time the leaders o

President Lee Jae Myung and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov agreed Wednesday to elevate their countries’ comprehensive partnership across a range of fields. Lee’s meeting with Japarov was the last in a series of one-on-one summits he had held with the leaders of all five Central Asian countries since Monday, ahead of the inaugural Korea-Central Asia summit later Wednesday. Lee and Japarov “held broad discussions on ways to strengthen bilateral relations and expand substantive cooperation,” accord

President Lee Jae Myung called on South Korea and Central Asia to open a new 30-year chapter in their partnership, saying their complementary strengths could help each side meet the challenges ahead. For the first time, the leaders of all five Central Asian countries gathered for the inaugural Korea-Central Asia summit in Seoul on Wednesday to map out a broad vision for the region’s partnership with South Korea. Joining Lee in Seoul were Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyzstan Pre

South Korea and Tajikistan established a comprehensive partnership Wednesday, elevating bilateral ties as Tajik President Emomali Rahmon made the first visit by a Tajik leader to Seoul in 11 years. The two countries also signed 17 agreements and memorandums of understanding, laying the institutional groundwork for broader cooperation in key infrastructure, from railway and electricity networks to critical minerals, artificial intelligence and transnational crime. President Lee Jae Myung and Rahm

South Korea and Kazakhstan agreed to elevate their relations to a future-oriented comprehensive strategic partnership, while laying the groundwork for deeper cooperation in crude oil supplies and nuclear energy. President Lee Jae Myung and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev reached the agreement during a summit on Tuesday in Seoul as Tokayev made a state visit ahead of Wednesday’s inaugural summit between South Korea and the five Central Asian nations. The elevation marks the first upgrade i

President Lee Jae Myung will hold a news conference Friday to address key domestic and foreign challenges, as his approval ratings continue to slide. "This news conference will be an opportunity to convey the president's firm commitment to reform, his governing principle of putting people's livelihoods first and a message of stronger national unity," Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations and communication, said during a press briefing Tuesday. "In addition, he will s

President Lee Jae Myung and Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov agreed to expand a partnership long anchored in energy and industrial plants to include infrastructure, shipbuilding, urban development and beyond. Lee welcomed Berdimuhamedov with an official ceremony Tuesday morning as he continued a second day of bilateral summit diplomacy with the five Central Asian leaders on the sidelines of the inaugural Korea-Central Asia summit to be held Wednesday. During their talks, Lee and Berdimuha

President Lee Jae Myung and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Monday agreed to broaden the countries' bilateral partnership into emerging sectors including artificial intelligence, critical minerals and defense, seeking to create new engines of growth for both countries. The two leaders emphasized expanding future-oriented cooperation by combining South Korea's technology and industrial strengths with Uzbekistan's development priorities and growing market during the summit in Seoul. The meet

President Lee Jae Myung on Monday began a series of bilateral summits with the leaders of five Central Asian countries, starting with Uzbekistan, ahead of the inaugural Korea-Central Asia Summit. The meetings with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are part of Seoul’s broader push to deepen political and economic ties with Central Asia as the region’s strategic importance grows amid an increasingly uncertain international environment. Lee’s summit with Uzbek Presiden

Gender Equality and Family Minister nominee Rep. Yong Hye-in stepped aside Sunday as opposition to her appointment spread into the ruling party, which had asked her to decide her future as a nominee. Yong, the sole lawmaker of the minor Basic Income Party, announced her decision at an emergency news conference at the National Assembly, just two weeks after President Lee Jae Myung nominated her for the post. The decision came on the eve of a packed week of confirmation hearings at the National As