ED Lee's diplomatic debut

A logo for the G7 2025 Kananaskis meeting is pictured at a news conference in Banff, Alberta, Canada, May 22. AP-Yonhap

President Lee Jae-myung will depart Seoul on Monday for the Group of Seven (G7) summit, which will be held over three days starting Sunday (local time) in Kananaskis in the Canadian province of Alberta. As a newly elected leader, Lee will make his debut on the international diplomatic stage, a moment likely filled with both anticipation and pressure. This is an opportunity for him to make a strong and lasting first impression on the world’s major leaders.

If Lee approaches this summit with seriousness and strategic intent, it will be a positive sign. He will be attending not as a private citizen but as the head of state representing South Korea, and the nation’s foreign policy interests will hinge, in part, on his personal diplomacy.

Lee is expected to make the most of this annual forum of seven highly industrialized nations — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — to signal that Korea is returning to political stability after months of turmoil created by his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol’s controversial and short-lived martial law.

Korea is one of several nonmember countries invited to this year’s summit. Others include Australia, Mexico, India and Saudi Arabia. Lee should actively pursue summits with leaders of both the G7 member states and other invited countries on the sidelines of the summit.

Given the agenda and the range of participants, the G7 summit offers a timely and fitting platform for Lee to begin building international relationships. According to the Canadian government, key topics include strengthening peace and security, countering foreign interference and transnational crime, improving coordinated responses to wildfires and enhancing energy security and digital transition. These are global issues that also challenge Korea. Lee and his national security team should closely observe how other nations define and respond to these challenges and assess what lessons Korea might draw from them.

Lee’s trip to Canada for the G7 summit comes at a time of growing concern over the state of Korea–U.S. relations since he won the June 3 presidential election.

Unlike his predecessors, Lee did not receive any congratulatory phone calls from foreign leaders — including the U.S. president — immediately after being declared the winner. Instead, his first conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump occurred days after his inauguration. According to the presidential office, the discussion touched on resolving tariff issues in a mutually beneficial way. The two leaders also reportedly shared personal reflections, including a mutual interest in golf and their traumatic experiences surviving assassination attempts during their respective campaigns.

However, the handling of the call by the White House marked a clear break from past protocol. There was no press release, official readout or social media mention from the White House about the conversation — an unusual silence, especially given Trump's typically vocal presence online. When asked, the White House confirmed the call to Korean media but declined to provide further details.

This muted response has fueled speculation about the current state of the alliance. It follows an earlier, unexpected reaction from Washington to Korea’s election results. In a statement, the White House said, “The U.S.-ROK alliance remains ironclad,” but added, “While South Korea had a free and fair election, the U.S. remains concerned and opposed to Chinese interference and influence in democracies around the world.”

Such a reaction is rare and raised eyebrows among analysts, who began reassessing Lee’s past remarks — such as calling U.S. Forces Korea an “occupying force” and his controversial “xie xie” comment dismissing China-Taiwan relations as irrelevant to Korea. These incidents have resurfaced as possible reasons for Washington’s cautious stance.

While analysts offer different explanations, they converge on a common theme: something appears off in Seoul-Washington relations. And when that perception becomes widespread, it becomes a diplomatic liability — one that demands immediate attention.

At the G7 summit, Lee has an important opportunity to clarify his pragmatic foreign policy vision. He must reassure foreign leaders, particularly those from G7 and invited nations, that Korea remains a stable and committed global partner. Crucially, he should reaffirm that the United States remains Korea’s strongest ally, and that under his leadership, the alliance will continue to be a cornerstone of peace and security in the region.