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President Lee Jae-myung speaks at a meeting with leaders of the ruling and opposition parties held at the presidential residence in Seoul’s Hannam neighborhood on June 22, 2025. (pool photo)

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will not attend the NATO summit this week at The Hague. Lee considered attending the NATO summit for another crack at a summit with US President Donald Trump, which did not happen during Lee’s time at the Group of Seven summit last week. 

“Despite the pile of issues to deal with on the home front, the administration had seriously considered attending this year’s NATO summit,” presidential office spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told reporters in a written briefing on Sunday. 

“However, considering various pending national issues and uncertainty in the Middle East, the president has decided not to attend the summit,” she wrote. 

Kang said the presidential office would consult with counterparts at NATO about sending someone in the president’s stead to the summit, which will take place in the Netherlands on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Following his inauguration, Lee had actively explored attending the NATO summit to elevate South Korea’s international image and to bolster cooperation with key member nations. That intent to attend the summit only grew after his plans to meet with Trump during the G7 summit fell apart when Trump unexpectedly left early for the US. 

However, Lee ultimately decided not to attend out of consideration for domestic issues such as the supplementary budget and the formation of his Cabinet, coupled with geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the US strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

NATO is a political and military alliance that was formed by 12 nations, including the US, Canada, the UK and France, to deter Soviet expansion into Europe after WWII. It currently has 32 member nations. South Korea was invited to attend a NATO summit for the first time in 2022, and President Yoon Suk-yeol attended that year’s summit in Madrid, Spain. South Korea has attended summits as a non-member for three consecutive years, including last year’s meeting in Washington, DC. 

By Shin Hyeong-cheol, staff reporter; Um Ji-won, staff reporter

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