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| Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, third from left, heads toward an Air Force plane at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to depart for Russia's Vladivostok, Monday. / Yonhap |
By Lee Min-hyung
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon departed Monday for Vladivostok to attend a global economic forum and seek business partnerships between Korea and Russia.
Lee will fill the void of President Moon Jae-in who will not attend this year's Eastern Economic Forum possibly due to ongoing preparations for the upcoming inter-Korean summit slated for next week. Moon participated in the event last year where he called for Moscow to tighten business partnerships with Seoul in nine areas ― such as shipbuilding, gas and railway.
During the forum, Lee is also scheduled to have meetings with leaders from Asian countries and discuss potential partnerships. On Tuesday, he will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and evaluate their economic ties and suggest measures to tighten their partnerships.
On Wednesday, the South Korean prime minister plans to deliver a keynote speech about President Moon's New Northern Policy outlining cooperation with Russia in the nine areas, called "nine bridges." Lee is also scheduled to have a dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin before heading back to Seoul on Wednesday night.
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