President posts on X before departure, pledging to stay on top of Nepal flood crisis
Lee departs for Lumière Summit in southern France, citing cultural cooperation goals
President Lee Jae Myung said Sunday that search and rescue operations for nine South Korean nationals missing in Nepal's flood disaster were still ongoing, and expressed his sorrow for the families waiting for news.
"It has been more than 10 days since the disaster, and my heart goes out to the families who have been anxiously waiting for word," Lee wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Our embassy and rapid-response team will work closely with Nepali authorities and spare no effort to find the nine."
Lee said the foreign minister had already traveled to Nepal to assess the situation on the ground. "Even while I am in France, I will continue to receive updates and take whatever measures are necessary," he said.
Lee departed Sunday from Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, aboard Air Force One to attend the Lumière Summit — an international film and video industry leaders' conference — in Saint-Paul-de-Vence in southern France. First lady Kim Hye-kyung accompanied him.
Among those who came to the airport to see the presidential couple off were Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, political affairs senior secretary Hong Ik-pyo, Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok, Democratic Party floor leader Han Byung-do, Minister of Interior and Safety Yun Ho-jung, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Yun-ju, and French Chargé d'Affaires Philomène Robin-Pierron.
In his X post, Lee described the departure as a weighty one but said he would carry out his diplomatic duties without wavering. He noted that the state visit marks the 140th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries and was made at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited South Korea in April.
"Building on 140 years of trust and friendship between Korea and France, I will make this visit a starting point for the next 140 years," Lee said. As co-chair of the Lumière Summit alongside France, he added that he would work to explore the future of the film and video industry and expand cultural and content cooperation between the two countries.
"In France, the birthplace of cinema, I will work together to write a new chapter for K-culture and the global film and video industry," he said.
sunpine@heraldcorp.com
