President Lee Jae-myung noted on the 21st that he plans to include the language of the counterpart country in diplomatic messages posted on social media (SNS).
On that day, the presidential office stated in a press release, "President Lee instructed that when composing SNS messages, the language of the counterpart country should also be included to show diplomatic respect and a willingness to communicate" before departing for Canada to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit.
Accordingly, during the period of attendance at the G7, all messages from President Lee related to the bilateral summit meetings were posted in both Korean and the language of the counterpart country on X (formerly Twitter). Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba responded by posting a message in both Korean and Japanese on SNS.
The presidential office explained that citizens of both countries positively reacted and commented on the messages from the two leaders. In President Lee's message, Japanese citizens wrote comments such as, "I hope Korea-Japan relations get closer," and, "East Asia should unite and walk together on the path to peace," while in Prime Minister Ishiba's message, Korean citizens reacted by saying, "Let's continue to have a good relationship going forward," and, "I hope we can support each other for the future."
The presidential office explained that "this use of language is not a one-time measure limited to specific countries but part of a digital diplomacy strategy based on the president's national governance philosophy" and added that they hope the president's SNS messages serve as a starting point for building a common understanding between the two peoples and mutual respect in diplomacy. They also mentioned that they will institutionalize the use of the counterpart country’s language in future overseas trips and diplomatic schedules.