President Lee to Return on June 18 After G7 Summit...Jeong Cheongrae and Other Leaders to Attend Homecoming

Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, will attend the homecoming ceremony for President Lee Jaemyung on June 18, following the conclusion of the Group of Seven (G7) Summit.

Kang Yujeong, Chief Presidential Spokesperson, announced to the press on June 17, "The welcoming ceremony for President Lee’s return will be attended by government officials, including the Prime Minister and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, as well as Democratic Party leaders such as the party leader and the floor leader."

President Lee Jae-myung, who is departing for the G7 Summit and a European tour, is greeting Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, who came to see him off at Seongnam Seoul Airport on June 9, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News

When President Lee departed for his European tour on June 9, Prime Minister Kim Minseok and other government officials saw him off at the airport, but Jeong Cheongrae was not included on the list of attendees. At the time, the presidential office explained, "In consideration of the prolonged Middle East war and the response to the Election Commission's inadequate management, as well as other domestic circumstances, the number of people seeing the president off was kept to a minimum."

The absence of Jeong Cheongrae from the departure ceremony led to speculation within political circles that President Lee was lending his support to Prime Minister Kim, who is expected to run for the next party leadership. Some also interpreted President Lee’s recent reaction to the results of the June 3 local elections as showing discomfort with the party leadership.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.