In a summit held in Canada, visuals of President Lee Jae-myung and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba standing in front of their respective national flags have attracted attention. President Lee stood in front of the Japanese flag, while Prime Minister Ishiba was positioned in front of the Korean flag.
The Presidential Office explained in a notice to reporters on the 18th titled 'Convention on the Position of Flags and Leaders During Bilateral Meetings' that this arrangement follows international conventions for summits.
The Presidential Office noted, "Most countries do not yield the position of the national flag on the right side when their country is the host during bilateral meetings," explaining the reason for the Korean flag being on the right side in this summit.
It added, "The arrangement of the leaders' positions has been a practice where the host country cedes the position of honor, the right side, to the leader of the visiting country in consideration of the guest."
According to the released photos, President Lee Jae-myung waited in the left position while leaving the right position empty until Prime Minister Ishiba arrived. This was explained as a consideration for the visiting country's leader.
The Presidential Office also added that "there are exceptional cases where the position of the national flag may also be yielded to the host country's counterpart."
The Presidential Office further introduced past instances where former President Moon Jae-in had the positions of both the flags and leaders yielded to him by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and President Xi Jinping of China during their meetings.