1st dinner with married couple after summit meeting
2nd private dinner moved to central Tokyo
“Building trust and discussing the future in a place other than the official residence”
It is known that President Yoon Seok-yeol, who is visiting Japan on the 16th, will have two dinners following the summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The intention is to highlight future-oriented Korea-Japan relations to the international community by directing a symbolic scene in which the two leaders found a solution to the issue of compensation for victims of forced labor during the Japanese occupation. It is unusual for the heads of state to move from place to place during the same evening and have dinner twice a day.
According to officials from the presidential office on the 13th, President Yoon will visit Japan for two days and one night to attend a meeting with compatriots and then meet with Prime Minister Kishida for a summit meeting. A joint press conference will then be held. There is also a possibility that the leaders of the two countries will come out with new Korea-Japan cooperation or future declarations.
It is known that the dinner on this day was first coordinated by the two countries so that President Yoon and his wife, Kim Gun-hee, and Prime Minister Kishida and his wife, Yuko, will be together. It is known that the two leaders will later move on and have a candid conversation between President Yun and Prime Minister Kishida in central Tokyo. The event is expected to be a private dinner with minimal attendees, with the wives of the leaders of both countries not attending.
In particular, a diplomatic source said that the exclusive dinner schedule between the leaders of the two countries is known to be a place that the Japanese side has carefully considered in line with President Yoon’s visit to Japan. It is said that Japan identified a place that President Yoon had visited once before and chose it as the location for the second dinner. An official from the presidential office said, “Japan carefully selects the venue for the dinner when visiting foreign heads of state.”
During a weekly meeting with Prime Minister Han Deok-soo that day, President Yoon ordered, “For future-oriented Korea-Japan relations, each government department should discover and promote cooperation projects in each field,” said Presidential Office Spokesman Lee Do-woon. In response, Prime Minister Han said, “We will promote the work of discovering and materializing exchange and cooperation projects in each field for the development of a new Korea-Japan relationship.” It is a measure to build an all-round partnership between the two countries with the Korea-Japan summit as an opportunity. As President Yoon ordered the discovery of exchange and cooperation projects in each field, there are observations that they could be expanded to all-round cooperation projects such as industry, culture, and education.
An official from the Office of the President said on the same day, “We are conducting consultations in the direction of participating in the ‘Future Youth Fund’ (which is being promoted by the Korean and Japanese business world) by the Japanese company that is accused of the forced labor ruling.” It is known that major business figures such as Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, and LG CEO Koo Kwang-mo will accompany President Yoon on his visit to Japan.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.