National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac briefs reporters on President Lee Jae Myung’s upcoming European tour, including his participation in the Group of Seven summit, at Cheong Wa Dae on Friday. (Yonhap) President Lee Jae Myung heads to Europe next week for a 10-day trip aimed at putting Seoul’s European diplomacy into full swing and strengthening its standing as a “global responsible power” seeking a broader role with the G7.Lee will visit Belgium, the European Union, Italy and the Vatican from June 9-18 before attending the Group of Seven summit in Evian, France, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Friday during a press briefing.Lee’s final stop will be the G7 summit on June 16-17, where South Korea has once again been invited to participate as an outreach partner. Through his remarks during the summit sessions, Lee plans to share South Korea’s experience on major global issues while underscoring Seoul’s willingness to serve as a bridge between advanced and developing economies, according to Wi.“We expect South Korea to further consolidate its standing as a G7 Plus global responsible power through its participation in the G7 summit for a second consecutive year,” Wi said during the briefing.“The fact that we have been invited to attend the summit for a second straight year demonstrates the G7’s high level of trust in and expectations for our government,” he added.Wi said Lee’s participation in the summit would help lay the groundwork for South Korea to continue shaping key global agendas ahead of its 2028 presidency of the G20, while creating momentum for the administration’s pragmatic, national interest-centered diplomacy.“This European tour and participation in the G7 summit will serve as an opportunity to expand the Lee Jae Myung administration’s diplomatic horizon into Europe based on the diplomatic achievements of its first year in office,” Wi said.“It is also expected to contribute to strengthening Korea’s standing as a global responsible power aspiring to a G7 Plus role by expanding its engagement in major international issues.”Lee will begin his European tour in Brussels, where he is scheduled to hold summit talks with Belgian and European Union leaders from June 9-10. This year marks the 125th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Belgium.On June 10, Lee will hold talks with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever before meeting King Philippe of Belgium.Lee will also meet European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. According to the presidential office, Lee’s visit will mark the first bilateral visit by a South Korean president to the EU in eight years.Lee will then travel to Italy for a state visit from June 11-13 at the invitation of President Sergio Mattarella.In addition to summit talks with Mattarella, Lee is expected to meet Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for the third time, following their first and second summits in New York in September 2025 and in Seoul in January.Lee will then visit the Vatican from June 14-15, where he is scheduled to meet Pope Leo XIV and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state. The visit comes roughly a year after Pope Leo XIV assumed the papacy.“The meeting with the pope, a symbol of world peace, and the president’s address during a special Mass at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls will provide an opportunity to express Korea’s commitment to global peace and solidarity amid rapidly changing international circumstances and to seek the Vatican’s support for those efforts,” Wi said.“It will also serve as an opportunity to reaffirm the Vatican’s continued support for and interest in peace on the Korean Peninsula.”Wi added that the visit would help strengthen cooperation between South Korea and the Vatican ahead of the 2027 World Youth Day in Seoul, which will be the second such event held in Asia and the first in a country where Catholicism is not the majority religion.