On the 23rd, the People Power Party criticized President Lee Jae-myung and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for holding a Korea-Japan summit, stating, "There must be a sufficient reflection following the fostering of anti-Japan sentiment that has led to national conflict and division."
In a commentary that day, Chief Spokesperson Choi Eun-seok mentioned that President Lee said after the summit that it "shows that Korea-Japan relations have returned to normal" and noted, "Changing a couple of words and expressions about is like flipping a palm, but that does not change the evaluation in the cold international situation."
However, Chief Spokesperson Choi highly appreciated the meeting with Prime Minister Ishiba, saying, "President Lee acknowledged the significance of choosing Japan as the first summit country and that it marked the start of full-fledged shuttle diplomacy. He also noted that promising broad exchanges between the two countries is meaningful."
Chief Spokesperson Choi emphasized, "I expect there were meaningful discussions about Korea-Japan economic cooperation concerning the tariff agreement with the U.S., and we must maintain a close relationship to establish a close security cooperation as East Asian leader countries and future partners."
On that afternoon, President Lee jointly announced the results of the meeting with Japan's Prime Minister at the Tokyo Prime Minister's residence, which included plans to expand cooperation in economy, security, and culture, along with future industries like hydrogen and artificial intelligence (AI), and human exchanges such as working holidays. The small-scale meeting, attended only by the two leaders and a few aides, started at 4:55 p.m. and lasted about one hour, followed by a larger meeting that continued for about 50 minutes.