South Korean President Lee Jae-myung hosted former President Moon Jae-in (2017–2022) for a luncheon at Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential palace in Seoul, on July 1, marking their first such meeting since Lee took office.
The two men met at Cheong Wa Dae's Sangchunjae reception hall at 11:30 a.m., according to Newsis. Neither leader's spouse attended; the Blue House said Moon's wife, Kim Jeong-suk, was abroad on a prior engagement.
The presidential office said the menu had been deliberately composed to reflect themes of 'harmony and unity' that both the current and former president have long championed. Dishes included bibimbap along with mineotang (a prized summer fish soup made with croaker), hanwoo beef-rib braised and then grilled over Gangwon-province charcoal, and a pan-fried set pairing dalgo-gi (John Dory, a South Sea seasonal fish chosen for Moon, who reportedly favours seafood) with baechu-jeon (cabbage pancake, a North Gyeongsang regional specialty associated with Lee's hometown of Andong). A pre-meal tea service featured traditional Korean confections, and dessert comprised assorted tteok (rice cakes) and a fruit punch. The Cheong Wa Dae noted that the punch was a nod to a 2017 occasion when Kim Jeong-suk made a similar drink with flood-damaged fruit for palace staff.
The Blue House said Lee's office had been seeking to arrange the meeting since he took office but that conflicting schedules had repeatedly delayed it.
Hong Ik-pyo, the presidential chief political secretary, said on June 27 that the occasion would give Lee a chance to hear the former president's counsel on livelihood recovery, national unity, and the administration's broader goals.
Political observers are paying close attention to whether the meeting will produce any message aimed at cooling tensions within the ruling Democratic Party, where competition for the party leadership has been intensifying ahead of an upcoming national party convention.
Later on the same evening, President Lee was scheduled to host a dinner with Han Byeong-do, the Democratic Party's floor leader, and other members of the parliamentary leadership.