President heads to New York to address UN, meet Wall Street investors

President Lee Jae Myung, right, waves as he and first lady Kim Hea Kyung prepare to board the presidential jet bound for New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly, Monday, at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, south of Seoul. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung departed Seoul Monday for a five-day visit to New York, where he is set to attend the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly and host a Korea investor relations event on Wall Street. The trip, part of a series of high-level diplomatic engagements, will see Lee spend three days in the city before returning to Seoul on Friday.

The centerpiece of his trip will be his first keynote address to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday (local time); Lee is scheduled to be the seventh speaker. In a 15-minute address, he is expected to underscore universal values such as freedom, human rights and peace, while also addressing the ongoing security situation on the Korean Peninsula. His participation in the U.N. event is widely seen as an effort to restore Korea’s international standing after months of domestic political turmoil, including a failed martial law attempt by and subsequent impeachment of his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol.

On Wednesday, Lee will also make history as the first Korean president to chair an open debate of the U.N. Security Council as leader of the rotating presidency. The session, centered on artificial intelligence (AI) and its implications for international peace and security, will focus on how the global community can address regulatory gaps related to the military use of and technological competition surrounding AI.

Beyond the U.N., Lee’s schedule includes bilateral meetings with several world leaders and senior officials, as well as a major investor relations event on Wall Street aimed at promoting Korea as an attractive destination for global capital. However, a second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump is not currently planned.

"We aim to reaffirm Korea’s status as a revitalized democracy and a globally responsible nation," National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Friday, regarding the purpose of the visit. "Having once been a beneficiary of U.N. support in defending democracy from the threat of war, Korea has since grown into a donor nation. Now, in this 80th anniversary of liberation, we will showcase how Korea has overcome a democratic crisis and is contributing to peace, development and human rights as a global leader."