President Lee returns from New York trip to attend UN General Assembly
Published: 26 Sep. 2025, 23:45
Updated: 28 Sep. 2025, 13:15
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- SARAH KIM
- [email protected]
![President Lee Jae Myung, left, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung arrive at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 26, concluding a five-day trip to New York to attend the UN General Assembly. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/28/c283f046-e566-4fa2-a5e3-13e834f0421e.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, left, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung arrive at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 26, concluding a five-day trip to New York to attend the UN General Assembly. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung arrived at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, at 8:40 p.m. and were greeted by Democratic Party chief Jung Chung-rae and senior presidential aides.
During the trip, Lee made his debut at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday and gave a keynote address where he proposed his so-called "END initiative," to bring peace on the Korean Peninsula through "exchange," "normalization" and "denuclearization." He also declared to the world "the return of a democratic Republic of Korea" following the brief martial law imposition last December.
On Wednesday, Lee presided over a public debate on AI at the UN Security Council, the first time for a South Korean president to do so.
On Thursday, Lee rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), a largely symbolic gesture signaling the start of a regular trading session at the world's largest stock exchange.
Lee later held the Korea Investment Summit at the NYSE, attended by U.S. and Korean business leaders, and said that "halting” North Korea's nuclear weapons program will provide significant security benefits. He said his administration hopes to resolve any kind of geopolitical risk due to the instability caused by inter-Korean military confrontation, encouraging investment in South Korea.
Lee also held meetings with U.S. lawmakers and opinion leaders to discuss tariff negotiations and alliance matters. In a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Lee called for "commercial rationality" in trade talks with the United States.
![President Lee Jae Myung, center, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung, right, greet Democratic Party leaders and presidential aides after arriving at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 26, concluding a five-day trip to New York. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/28/455369e8-7d65-474d-95ad-e47ca66297bb.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, center, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung, right, greet Democratic Party leaders and presidential aides after arriving at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Sept. 26, concluding a five-day trip to New York. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
Lee also held bilateral talks with the leaders of Poland, Italy, Czech Republic and Uzbekistan, as well as UN Secretary General António Guterres.
While a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump didn't take place during this trip amid stalled tariff negotiations, there is a high likelihood of bilateral talks on the margins of the APEC summit in Gyeongju in late October.
BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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