A South Korean ruling party lawmaker on Monday highlighted the outcomes of President Lee Jae-myung’s recent trip to the United States and Mexico, urging citizens to take note of the results.
Rep. Kim Nam-joon of the ruling Democratic Party wrote on social media platform X that the trip encompassed the U.N. General Assembly, a South Korea-U.S. summit, a South Korea-Australia summit, the “Korea Investment Summit 2026” and a South Korea-Mexico summit.
Kim said the Lee government worked “without pause” to broaden cooperation with other countries across diplomacy, the economy and security, producing what he called tangible gains for national interests.
Lee left Seoul on Sept. 21 for a seven-day trip that took him to New York and Mexico. In New York, he held talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese before addressing the 81st session of the U.N. General Assembly, where he proposed a coalition of “constructive contributor states” to counter supply chain disruptions stemming from blockades in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. He also laid out a three-part “K-Initiative” vision covering a global AI basic society, a green transition and cooperation on energy supply chains.
On Sept. 22, Lee held a 30-minute meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, with the two leaders agreeing to deepen follow-up consultations on nuclear submarine fuel enrichment and reprocessing, shipbuilding cooperation and the transfer of wartime operational control. Trump reaffirmed his willingness to engage with North Korea, and the two leaders agreed to stay in close communication to help open the door to dialogue on the Korean Peninsula.
In Mexico, Lee became the first South Korean president to pay a state visit to the country in 16 years. He met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, and the two sides agreed to widen economic cooperation beyond trade and investment into finance, supply chains, artificial intelligence, aerospace and defense. The leaders adopted a “2026-2030 Korea-Mexico Joint Action Plan” covering trade, supply chains, AI and digital technology, aerospace and defense, and culture and education.
The two countries also concluded seven years of negotiations to revise their bilateral investment protection agreement, which is now expected to be signed and ratified by South Korea’s National Assembly before taking effect. Export-import banks from both countries agreed to establish a $100 million line of credit to support Mexican firms purchasing South Korean goods and services, as well as South Korean companies operating in Mexico. The visit also produced 16 memorandums of understanding and a separate declaration on AI cooperation.
Kim said he would keep the public informed about how the results of the trip could translate into opportunities and changes for South Korea’s economy and citizens’ lives, and asked people to widely share the “new possibilities” the country is creating.
