South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (right) and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands ahead of their talks at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Friday. (Yonhap)


President Lee Jae Myung has accepted French President Emmanuel Macron’s official invitation to this year’s Group of Seven s 바다신게임 ummit during their meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Friday.
Macron’s visit marks the first by a French leader to South Korea since President Francois Hollande’s state visit in 2015. It i 바다이야기게임기 s also Macron’s first trip to Seoul since taking office in 2017, and comes as the two countries commemorate the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
“The Republic of Korea will take pa 오징어릴게임 rt in discussions at the G7 on addressing global macroeconomic imbalances and reforming international partnerships,” Lee said, referring to South Korea by its official name.
“Through this, w 바다이야기게임기 e will diagnose structural challenges facing shared prosperity in the international community and seek solutions that can contribute to the co-growth of advanced and developing economies.”
F 오션릴게임 rance holds the G7 presidency this year and has invited other non-G7 countries to its annual summit in Evian-les-Bains in June, including India, Brazil and Kenya.
South Korea was invited to G7 summits in 2021, 2023 and 2025.
Lee added that “I expect that innovation and creativity — which can be seen as common ground between our two countries — will further advance our future-oriented partnership” through his attendance at the G7.
Lee underscored the importance of partnership between Seoul and Paris.
“South Korea and France have developed remarkable cooperation in trade and investment, and are expanding the horizons of cooperation in future strategic industries such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, space, nuclear energy and defense,” Lee said. “The two countries, as responsible members of the international community, are also working together to respond to rapid changes in the global landscape.”

Deeper strategic cooperation amid Mideast war

Lee also stressed the need for cooperation between South Korea and France amid the war in the Middle East, which entered its 35th day on Friday.
“The fallout from the recent Middle East war is shaking the international order. Human casualties are mounting, and its repercussions for the global economy and the energy sector are spreading by the day,” Lee said. “Through today’s summit, I hope we can pool our wisdom to help restore peace to the Middle East at an early date and recover global energy supply chains, while exploring joint measures to respond to the crisis.”
In response, Macron said South Korea and France can work together to navigate growing global uncertainty and help stabilize the Middle East.
“We spoke extensively about the situation in the Middle East. I believe we can play a useful role in helping stabilize the situation in and around the Strait of Hormuz, and more broadly across the region, once the bombardments have ceased,” Macron told Lee.
Macron also underscored the importance of strengthening coordination between Seoul and Paris in the fields of defense and security.
He also highlighted the potential to deepen economic cooperation and expand collaboration across a range of strategic sectors, including space, aeronautics and civil nuclear energy.
“Naturally, whether in artificial intelligence, quantum technologies or semiconductors, we see many concrete avenues for cooperation. We also want to do more in the agri-food sector,” Macron said. “This is part of our very strong relationship. And I must also mention culture.”
South Korea and France are set to elevate their ties from a “Comprehensive Partnership for the 21st Century,” established in 2004, to a “global strategic partnership.”
Macron said the elevation of ties is “essential” for the bilateral relationship, describing it as a partnership “grounded in cooperation and oriented toward defending our shared interests and promoting our respective sovereignties.”
Macron added that the two countries shared “a deep attachment to democratic values, to the rule of law, a commitment to upholding international law and the Charter of the United Nations," among other things.
Macron said these shared principles formed “a solid foundation for joint action,” bringing together “countries like ours, our partners in the region, our European partners, our Canadian friends, and several major emerging democracies.”
“It is this coalition that we believe in — a coalition of powers that seek independence and reject any form of hegemony or a world subjected to brutality or unpredictability,” he said.
“We discussed this at length with President (Lee), and we therefore seek to strengthen our strategic and defense ties,” Macron added.
In a separate statement, Seoul’s senior presidential spokesperson, Kang Yu-jung, said the upgrade in the partnership is “expected to deepen strategic communication with France, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a key player in the European Union.”
Kang added that Seoul and Paris are expected to “build a future-oriented partnership” through the elevation of bilateral ties.