Lee Manages Summit Diplomacy and Domestic Affairs, to Hold Video Meeting from Rome Saturday

President Lee Jae-myung, on a state visit to Italy, held a summit with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday and discussed ways to expand economic and security cooperation. On Sunday, he will preside over a video meeting with senior secretaries from Rome. The move is interpreted as a sign of his determination to personally address domestic issues separately from his summit diplomacy schedule, as the fallout from the National Election Commission's faulty election management spread even during his extended overseas trip.

Kang Yu-jung, the senior presidential spokesperson, said at a briefing in Rome, Italy, on Thursday: "He will preside over the video meeting at 2 p.m. Italian local time, 9 p.m. Korean time, on the 14th." The meeting will review the parliamentary investigation into the National Election Commission and plans to push for institutional improvements, the investigation status related to the shortage of ballots in the local elections, foreign exchange and financial market trends, and price stabilization measures.

President Lee also devoted considerable effort to summit diplomacy during his trip. At the state dinner held immediately after the summit with Italian President Sergio Mattarella the previous day, a large number of business figures attended, including Federation of Korean Industries Chairman Ryu Jin, Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee, LS Group Chairman Koo Cha-eun, Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon, and Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon, linking summit diplomacy to expanded economic cooperation. On the Italian side, Stellantis Chairman and Ferrari Chairman John Elkann also attended.

At the event, President Lee was awarded the "Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic," the highest grade of decoration from the Italian government. This is the first time President Lee has received a decoration from a foreign government since taking office.

In the meeting with Prime Minister Meloni, the two sides reaffirmed the outcomes of the summit with President Mattarella and finalized four memorandums of understanding (MOUs) in the fields of small and medium-sized enterprises, the social and solidarity economy, advanced science and technology, and joint development in Africa. They also adopted the "2026-2030 Korea-Italy Strategic Action Plan" document to systematically implement these agreements.

At the subsequent Korea-Italy Business Roundtable (BRT), President Lee stressed, "Economic cooperation between the two countries is important amid an international order facing growing uncertainty from the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution and supply chain restructuring." The event was also attended by business figures including Samyang Foods Chairman Kim Jung-soo, Hyundai Motor President Sung Kim, LG Chem President Kim Dong-chun, and HD Construction Machinery President Moon Jae-young, in addition to those who attended the dinner.

At the BRT, Samsung Electronics sought to expand cooperation in semiconductors and AI, while LS explored business opportunities in power grids and submarine cables. Hyundai Motor showed interest in eco-friendly vehicles, and Hyosung and LG Chem in building eco-friendly materials and chemical industry supply chains. Naver discussed AI and cloud-based digital cooperation, Samyang Foods discussed expanding K-food distribution networks, and HD Construction Machinery discussed expanding its entry into the European infrastructure market.

On the Italian side, shipbuilding and defense company Fincantieri, automaker Ferrari, and energy company Enilive also attended, seeking ways to expand cooperation centered on future growth industries such as AI and semiconductors, energy, future mobility, and advanced manufacturing.