Lee heads to Europe for G7 summit

President Lee Jae Myung, right, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung board the presidential plane at Seoul Air Base, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, to depart for a trip to Europe. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung departed for Europe on Tuesday on a 10-day trip that will include his attendance at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in France and talks with the leaders of Belgium and Italy.

Accompanied by first lady Kim Hea Hyung, Lee's trip will last from Tuesday through June 18 and include visits to Belgium, Italy and the Vatican, where he is scheduled to meet Pope Leo XIV.

Lee's attendance at the G7 summit, set for next Monday through Wednesday, comes at the invitation of the grouping and will mark Korea's second consecutive participation as an invited nation.

On the first leg of the trip, Lee will visit Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday and hold separate summit talks with the leaders of Belgium and the European Union (EU).

From Thursday through Saturday, Lee will make a state visit to Italy at the invitation of President Sergio Mattarella and hold a summit with him, followed by talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The president will visit the Vatican on Sunday and Monday, and meet with Pope Leo XIV there before attending the G7 summit in France's Evian over the following two days, according to the presidential office.

The trip comes shortly after President Lee marked the first anniversary of his inauguration on June 4.

Lee's trip "may serve as an opportunity to expand his administration's diplomatic outreach to Europe while increasing Seoul's participation in discussions on key issues of the international community," Wi Sung-lac, national security adviser, said earlier.