Lee returns home from South America tour

President Lee Jae Myung and First Lady Kim Hea Kyung disembark from Air Force One after arriving at Seoul Air Base in Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung returned home Monday from an 11-day overseas tour that included meetings with the heads of leading U.S. tech firms and summits with the presidents of three South American nations.

The trip first took Lee to San Francisco, where he met with Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang and the heads of three other leading U.S. tech companies to promote bilateral cooperation on artificial intelligence.

During subsequent visits to Brazil, Chile and Argentina, Lee held summits with their presidents and agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas ranging from critical and strategic minerals to crude oil imports.

At his final stop in Frankfurt, he briefly met with members of the Korean community in Germany.

Back in Seoul, the president was scheduled to resume receiving policy briefings from government ministries and agencies, beginning with the trade, environment and labor ministries Tuesday, followed by the foreign, defense and unification ministries the next day.

Additionally, the president was set to hold a special meeting with his aides later in the day to discuss recent issues related to the housing market and sharp fluctuations in the local stock market, according to the presidential office.