The president visited Belgium, Italy, and the Vatican over an eight-night, ten-day trip, attending the G7 Summit in Évian, France, on June 16-17 before heading home.
At the airport, he was welcomed by Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, Democratic Party leader Jeong Cheong-rae, and floor leader Han Byeong-do.
Also present were Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik and Senior Secretary Hong Ik-pyo.
As he quickly passed by the welcoming party, President Lee exchanged handshakes. Jeong bowed at a 90-degree angle to greet him, to which Lee responded, "Thank you for your hard work."
While Kim also bowed, they did not engage in further conversation.
During Lee's departure on June 9, government officials, including Kim, attended the farewell ceremony, but the Democratic Party leadership, including Jeong, was absent.
Earlier, on June 17, after boarding his return flight, President Lee shared a friendly selfie with President Donald Trump on X (formerly Twitter).
He mentioned that Trump had invited him to play golf, stating, "The Korea-U.S. relationship is strong and eternal."
Lee recounted, "During dinner yesterday, he mentioned wanting to play golf with my wife and me, and my wife made him promise with a pinky swear. He reiterated after lunch today that we should definitely play together," adding, "I thought it was just a casual remark, but it seems I need to prepare for it."
Additionally, he noted, "At the last lunch, he gifted me the pen he has been using for signatures. I believe it might be because of the memory of the pen I received during our first summit meeting," expressing gratitude to Trump for his special attention.
Last August, during a visit to the White House for a Korea-U.S. summit, Lee had gifted Trump the pen he used to sign the guestbook at that time.
Looking ahead, President Lee plans to hold a senior secretary meeting on June 19 to review measures for natural disaster preparedness during the summer and address domestic issues.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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