President Lee's intense 3-night, 6-day trip to Japan and the U.S... Meets Ishiba on the 23rd and Trump on the 25th

Visit to 'MASGA' Philadelphia Shipyard on the 26th

Economic delegation including leaders of the four major conglomerates accompanying

"Difficult to predict outcome of talks with Trump"

President Lee Jae-myung will hold summit meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru on the 23rd and U.S. President Donald Trump on the 25th. Following the Korea-U.S. summit, President Lee is scheduled to visit Hanwha's shipyard in Philadelphia, U.S., on the 26th.

The Presidential Office announced President Lee's major schedules for his visits to Japan and the U.S. on the 21st. President Lee will depart on the 23rd, kicking off his itinerary in Japan. After holding a luncheon discussion with Korean residents in Japan, he plans to hold a summit with Prime Minister Ishiba. A state dinner is also scheduled afterward. On the morning of the 24th, he will meet key members of the Japanese parliament and then head to the United States.

Arriving in Washington, D.C. on the afternoon of the 24th (local time), President Lee will host a dinner discussion with Korean residents in the U.S. On the 25th, a summit meeting and working luncheon with President Trump are scheduled. According to the Presidential Office, meetings with U.S. business leaders and scholars are also being arranged. The economic delegation accompanying this trip includes Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, and representatives from 15 companies. Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae, Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, Doosan Enerbility Chairman Park Ji-won, and Celltrion Group Chairman Seo Jung-jin are among those accompanying the delegation.

On the 26th, President Lee will travel to Philadelphia to visit the Hanwha Philadelphia Shipyard, the key site for the MASGA (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again) project. Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan is scheduled to explain the significance of acquiring the shipyard and the shipbuilding plans. Senior U.S. political figures are expected to accompany President Lee on the field tour. That evening, he will depart from Philadelphia and is scheduled to arrive in Korea in the early morning of the 28th.

At the chief aides' meeting on the 21st, President Lee remarked, "I will soon be visiting the U.S. and Japan, and there are so many urgent issues to resolve in the midst of the changing international landscape and trade order," and "With the thought that we have to strengthen the nation's power, I am deeply pondering these matters." He continued, "In diplomacy, we must always put the interests of the entire Korean people before the current administration's position," and "Though the environment is challenging, I will do my utmost to ensure foreign affairs and security policies are implemented in a mutually beneficial way with the nation's interests as the top priority."

The government is intensively preparing topics for the Korea-U.S. summit, such as shipbuilding and nuclear power generation measures. Although Korea and the U.S. reached an agreement on tariffs on the 31st of last month, President Trump stated at the time, "President Lee will make an official visit to the White House to announce specific amounts." A government official commented, "The outcome of the talks is currently completely unpredictable, as if in a fog."

Reporter Kim Hyung-kyu khk@hankyung.com