The White House on the 29th made a mistake by mislabeling President Lee Jae-myung's title while livestreaming the South Korea–U.S. summit.
The official White House YouTube channel livestreamed for about 12 minutes the opening remarks from a meeting between President Trump and President Lee Jae-myung, but titled the video "President Trump attends bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea."
The error was not corrected even immediately after the meeting ended, sparking controversy as some viewers pointed out in the comments, "South Korea has a President, not a Prime Minister."
In diplomatic settings, mislabeling the counterpart's leader's title can be seen as more than a routine mistake and as a diplomatic discourtesy. In particular, this meeting was a key part of President Trump's schedule in Korea, raising concerns that the U.S. mistake could affect the delicate mood of bilateral relations.
On the day, President Trump visited Korea to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and held a South Korea–U.S. summit with President Lee Jae-myung in Gyeongju.
The two leaders' meeting came about two months after the meeting in Washington, D.C., in Aug., and served as a venue to discuss strengthening the South Korea–U.S. alliance, including economic and security issues.
The White House YouTube video now shows "President," and the White House is not known to have issued a separate official position on the labeling error.