From triumph to Trump: Lee Jae-myung starts term with full plate

Regaining US trust, ironing out urgent trade issues among leader's key priorities

- Wendy Teo

SEOUL - Freshly minted South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has hit the ground running, just hours after winning the snap election of June 3. And among the many urgent matters awaiting him is to get the attention of his American counterpart Donald Trump.

Officials from Washington and Seoul are hurrying to set up a congratulatory phone call between Mr Trump and Mr Lee to happen as early as June 5, which would, hopefully, serve as a precursor to a face-to-face meeting in the near future.

Local media reported that the two possible windows for a Trump-Lee meeting could be at the Group of Seven summit in Canada from June 15 to 17, and the Nato summit set for June 24 and 25 in the Netherlands, both of which South Korea has been invited to attend.

Mr Lee's first day in office on June 4 coincided with Washington's deadline for trading partners to submit their "best proposals" to the table, ahead of the July 9 expiry of the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs.

The doubling of steel and aluminum tariffs from 25 per cent to 50 per cent by the US also took effect from June 4, and South Korea was among the countries hit.

Speaking on a radio show on the eve of the election, Mr Lee had expressed confidence that he and his team would be able to reach "compromise and adjustment in a way that benefits both sides" with the US.

Mr Lee, a former human rights lawyer, was sworn into office at 9am (10am in Singapore) on June 4, barely five hours after the final vote tally gave him a 49.42 per cent mandate. His closest rival, former labour minister Kim Moon-soo, garnered 41.15 per cent.

The snap election Mr Lee, 61, won was widely seen as a referendum on his disgraced predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol's failed self-coup of Dec 3, 2024.