President Lee Jae-myung Forms 'Consensus' with Leaders Such as Lula and Modi at G7 Summit
President Lee Jae-myung, who visited Canada to attend the G7 Summit, garnered attention for expressing intimacy during his meeting with Brazilian President Lula, as they shared a warm handshake and a friendly pat on the back.
On the 17th (local time), President Lee began the second day of the G7 Summit with a Korea-Brazil summit meeting with President Ignácio Lula da Silva (hereinafter referred to as 'Lula').
The two leaders formed a special consensus during the meeting. According to the presidential office, President Lee mentioned a commonality that both leaders overcame difficult childhoods and political hardships to win elections.
Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jeong reported, "During the meeting, when President Lee shared his personal experience of getting injured when his arm was caught in a machine during his childhood, President Lula showed deep interest by asking, 'How old were you when that happened?'"
Born as the son of a poor farmer, President Lula is also known to have a background as a 'child worker.' After dropping out of elementary school, he worked in a dyeing factory and experienced a similar pain when he lost his pinky finger in an accident while working in a metal factory at the age of 19.
After founding the Workers' Party and entering politics, President Lula, who chose a pragmatic approach after being elected president, advised President Lee, "You must not forget the reason why the people elected you," which drew attention.
The presidential office stated, "Both leaders agreed to further develop the comprehensive partnership between Korea and Brazil, based on a shared national governance philosophy that emphasizes left-right integration and pragmatism, through this summit, which took place for the first time in ten years."
Additionally, it was added that "President Lula invited President Lee to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in November, which Brazil will chair."
Meanwhile, President Lee also formed a similar consensus during his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to the presidential office, he mentioned, "We all were born into socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds and became leaders of our respective countries," referring to their similar backgrounds. He also conveyed a message of condolence in relation to the recent plane crash accident in India, saying, "I would like to express my deep condolences to the victims, their families, and the people of India."
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Image source: youtube 'jtbc news', President Lee Jae-myung attending a G7 reception hosted by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at a hotel in Calgary on the 16th (local time). 2025.6.18/News1 (Presidential Office)
