Back-to-back summits with Anutin, Marcos in Manila

President to chair luncheon with Koreans in southern China on Wednesday

Region home to some 24,000 overseas Koreans in Guangdong and neighboring areas

President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a senior secretaries meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a senior secretaries meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday. [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung will hold separate bilateral summits with the leaders of Thailand and the Philippines and chair a luncheon with Korean residents in Shenzhen, China, during his trip to the ASEAN and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summits from Monday through Thursday.

Cheong Wa Dae Chief Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung announced the additional schedule for Lee's participation in the ASEAN and APEC summits in a written briefing Friday.

According to the briefing, Lee will first meet Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. in separate summits Monday afternoon, on the sidelines of the ASEAN-related leaders' meetings. The back-to-back summits are expected to cover a broad range of topics, including ways to strengthen practical cooperation between South Korea and each country as well as regional issues.

Lee will then travel to Shenzhen, the APEC summit host city, on Wednesday to chair a luncheon with Korean residents in southern China.

The southern China region falls under the jurisdiction of the Consulate General in Guangzhou and encompasses Guangdong, Fujian and Hainan provinces as well as the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where some 24,000 overseas Koreans reside. Lee is expected to hear the concerns of local Korean residents and business people and offer words of encouragement.

"Should any additional schedules arise, including further bilateral talks, we will announce them as soon as coordination with the relevant countries is complete," Kang said.


sunpine@heraldcorp.com