President Lee Returns Home; Rep. Jung Chung-rae Greets Him with a 90-Degree Bow

[Anchor]

President Lee Jae-myung returned home this morning (June 18) after attending the G7 Summit and completing his tour of Europe. Rep. Jung Chung-rae, the leader of the Democratic Party, who had been the subject of rumors regarding friction between the party and the presidential office after skipping the departure ceremony, attended today's arrival event and greeted President Lee with a 90-degree bow.

Park Yerim reports.

[Reporter]

President Lee Jae-myung and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung disembark from Air Force One.

President Lee arrived at Seoul Airport at approximately 11:35 a.m. today, concluding his schedule for the G7 Summit and his European tour.

Government officials, including Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, as well as Democratic Party leadership, including Party Leader Jung Chung-rae and Floor Leader Han Byung-do, were present at the airport.

Rep. Jung, who did not attend the departure ceremony on the 9th, was present at today's arrival event and greeted President Lee by bowing 90 degrees.

[President Lee Jae-myung: Thank you for your hard work.]

Previously, when the Democratic Party leadership, including Rep. Jung, unusually skipped the departure ceremony, rumors of so-called friction between the party and the presidential office emerged, citing issues such as accountability for the June 3 local elections.

In response, the presidential office stated, "We minimized the number of people at the send-off ceremony, considering domestic situations such as the prolonged war in the Middle East and the poor management by the National Election Commission."

However, with the Democratic Party's national convention approaching in August, the fact that Prime Minister Kim attended the departure while Rep. Jung did not led to political interpretations that the presidential office was effectively throwing its weight behind the Prime Minister.

The joint attendance of Prime Minister Kim and Rep. Jung at today's arrival event is interpreted as an attempt to mend the rift between the party and the presidential office, also taking into account the situation where President Lee's approval rating for state affairs has fallen for four consecutive weeks.

During this European tour, President Lee held consecutive summits with the leaders of Belgium, the European Union, and Italy, and attended the G7 Summit held in Evian, France, where he discussed issues regarding peace on the Korean Peninsula with President Trump.

President Lee is scheduled to personally announce the achievements of his European tour at the presidential office tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.

(Video coverage: Jung Sang-bo, Yoon Hyung | Video editing: Nam Il)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.