President Yoon Seok-yeol visited England and France for 7 days and 5 nights on the 20th. At the invitation of King Charles III, he will make a state visit to the UK, and France will make a last-ditch effort to host the 2030 Busan World Expo (Expo).
President Yoon met with Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Jang Ho-jin, People Power Party leader Kim Ki-hyun, People Power Party floor leader Yoon Jae-ok, French Ambassador to Korea Philippe Berto, British Ambassador to Korea Gareth Weir, and Kim Dae-gi at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do this morning. After receiving a farewell reception from the Chief of Staff and Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Lee Jin-bok, he boarded Air Force Unit 1, the presidential plane, and departed for the UK.
President Yoon’s visit to England took place at the invitation of Charles III. President Yoon is the first state guest to be invited since the coronation of King Charles III.
On the 20th, President Yoon will hold a dinner meeting for compatriots in London, the largest Korean community in Western Europe, and begin his official state visit schedule starting on the 21st.
On the 21st, President Yoon will be welcomed by Crown Princess William and his wife and move to Horse Guards Square, the official welcoming ceremony site. After inspecting the Royal Guards with a 41-gun salute at Horse Guards Square, President Yoon and King Charles III will take a horse-drawn carriage march to Buckingham Palace, where a welcome luncheon will be held. After the luncheon, the British royal family plans to introduce Korea-related collections on display at Buckingham Palace to President Yoon and his wife.
This afternoon, President Yoon will lay flowers at the Korean War Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Westminster Abbey.
Afterwards, President Yoon will give a speech in English to the British Parliament. President Yoon is expected to look back on the history of the birth and growth of Korea-Britain relations and present a future vision and direction for the development of cooperation that the two countries will pursue together. Before the speech, President Yoon plans to have a friendly chat with some lawmakers, including the Speakers of the Senate and House of Representatives.
President Yoon concludes the day’s schedule with a banquet at Buckingham Palace.
On the 22nd, the third day of his visit to the UK, President Yoon will hold a Korea-UK summit with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the Prime Minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street, London. The two leaders discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in various fields such as digital, artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, nuclear power, defense, bio, space, semiconductors, and clean energy, and signed the ‘Korea-English Accord Document’ containing future cooperation plans between the two countries. ‘ is scheduled to be adopted.
On this day, President Yoon will also attend the ‘Korea-England Business Forum’, ‘Korea-England Top Science and Technology Future Forum (hosted by the Royal Society)’, and ‘London Special Financial District Mayor’s Dinner’.
On the 23rd, President Yoon tours the ‘Churchill War Room’, where former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who protected liberal democracy in World War II, commanded the war effort. After saying goodbye to King Charles III for the last time in England, they head to France.
France is making a last-ditch effort to host the Busan Expo.
President Yoon will hold a luncheon and dinner event for representatives of the World Expo Organization (BIE) in Paris from the 23rd to the 24th ahead of the vote on the host site of the World Expo to be held in Paris, France on November 28th.
At the 4th BIE meeting in June, President Yoon expressed our strong will and preparedness for hosting the 2030 Busan Expo, and plans to make every effort to negotiate the hosting until the end.
After holding other events such as the Republic of Korea National Day reception, President Yoon will leave France on the 25th and return to Korea on the 26th.
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.