Summary (50 words). South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will make his first European tour from June 9 to 18, 2026, visiting Belgium, the European Union, Italy and the Vatican before attending the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, on June 16–17. Separately, Korea and Saudi Aramco agreed to deepen crude, naphtha and strategic-reserve cooperation.
A ten-day, four-country, five-summit calendar
On June 5, 2026, South Korea’s Office of National Security director Wi Sung-lac confirmed the schedule in an official briefing. President Lee Jae-myung will travel from June 9 to 18, 2026, to Belgium, the European Union institutions in Brussels, Italy and the Holy See, and will then join the G7 summit hosted by France in Évian on June 16–17. Korea’s policy briefing service Korea.kr published the schedule the same day under the title “President Lee, June 9–18 European tour … attending the France G7 summit”. The trip is President Lee’s first full European visit since taking office and the first visit by a South Korean head of state to the Holy See in roughly one year, since Pope Leo XIV’s accession in May 2025.
Belgium and the EU: an eight-year first for a bilateral EU summit
President Lee arrives in Brussels on the evening of June 9 with a dinner gathering with the Korean community. On June 10 he holds a summit with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, followed by an audience with King Philippe. 2026 marks the 125th anniversary of Korea–Belgium diplomatic relations, providing a symbolic backdrop. According to Wi’s briefing, Belgium hosts Antwerp — the EU’s second-largest port and a hub for chemicals and biotech clusters — which Seoul wants to leverage as a platform for Korean firms expanding across Europe.
Later on June 10, President Lee meets EU leaders for a Korea–EU summit and a signing ceremony in Brussels. This is the first bilateral EU summit hosted by a Korean president in eight years. President Lee will meet European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — both of whom he previously met one year earlier at the 2025 Kananaskis G7 in Canada. Wi Sung-lac highlighted the EU’s scale: 27 member states, 450 million people, an 18-trillion-euro single market, and Korea’s third-largest trading partner. Seoul’s stated outcomes are (1) the full activation of Korea’s Europe diplomacy, (2) protection of Korean firms’ rights and market access in Europe, and (3) closer security and international policy coordination.
Italy state visit and the Holy See
From June 11 to 13, President Lee will make a state visit to Italy at the invitation of President Sergio Mattarella. The program will include both Rome and Florence. Lee will meet Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for the third time after their 2025 UN General Assembly bilateral and her official January 2026 visit to Seoul. The Italian leg is positioned to advance defense, aerospace, automotive supply, fashion-and-design industry ties, and university research links.
From June 14 to 15, Lee will travel to the Holy See, meet Pope Leo XIV and the Vatican Secretary of State. It is the first Korean presidential visit to the Holy See since Pope Leo XIV’s accession in May 2025 — approximately one year earlier. Vatican diplomacy is framed as a vehicle to project values-based engagement on peace, humanitarian relief, and inter-religious cooperation.
France G7 summit on June 16–17 in Évian
The trip concludes on June 16–17 at the French-hosted G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains. France invited South Korea as a partner, continuing Korea’s involvement after the 2025 Kananaskis G7 in Canada. According to the official briefing, the Korean government frames the EU and G7 collectively as “indispensable partners for Korea’s leap into a G7 diplomatic power” — explicitly committing to a stronger role in rules-based multilateralism, alongside democracy and market economy values. Agenda items likely include Ukraine reconstruction, Middle East stability, AI security governance, supply-chain resilience, and the climate transition.
Korea–Saudi Aramco: oil, naphtha and strategic reserve cooperation
On June 5, 2026, the same day the tour calendar was announced, Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy disclosed that Vice Minister Moon Shin-hak had met in Seoul with Saudi Aramco Downstream President Mohammed Y. Al-Qahtani. The talks covered stable crude and naphtha supply, mid- to long-term resource security cooperation, and an expansion of plant-construction collaboration. Al-Qahtani oversees Aramco’s refining, petrochemicals, global investment and trading.
Vice Minister Moon thanked Aramco for its active cooperation after the April 2026 Korean strategic-economic envoy visit, and asked for sustained support so that Korea can access required energy resources in a timely manner “no matter what supply chain disruption occurs.” Both sides discussed cooperation through Korea’s strategic petroleum reserve and crude-oil storage infrastructure, and explored avenues to strengthen Korean engineering firms’ participation in major Saudi oil, gas, and petrochemical projects.
Why these two threads matter together
Pairing a presidential tour to Europe with an Aramco resource-security meeting signals Korea’s intent to build a multi-vector diplomatic matrix: market access in Europe, values-based engagement at the Vatican, multilateral seat-keeping at the G7, and energy and supply-chain resilience with the Middle East — all packaged within a single week. The official Korean government messaging consistently uses the phrase “leap into a G7 diplomatic power” to describe this trajectory.
Key figures from the official briefing
- Tour window: June 9–18, 2026 (10 days).
- Countries / venues: Belgium, EU institutions (Brussels), Italy (Rome and Florence), Holy See, France (Évian G7).
- Korea–EU bilateral summit: first in 8 years.
- EU scale: 27 member states, 450 million people, 18 trillion euros GDP, Korea’s third-largest trading partner.
- Korea–Belgium relations: 125th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
- Italy: state visit on June 11–13, third Lee–Meloni summit.
- Holy See: June 14–15, first Korean presidential visit since Pope Leo XIV’s May 2025 accession.
- G7: June 16–17 in Évian, France.
- Saudi Aramco talks: June 5 in Seoul, crude/naphtha/strategic reserve/plant cooperation.
Primary sources (Korean): Korea.kr — President Lee’s June 9–18 European tour; Korea.kr — NSO chief Wi Sung-lac G7 briefing; Korea.kr — Korea–Saudi Aramco oil, naphtha and plant cooperation. Related coverage: K-Drone, laver exports and Korean-language textbooks (June 4, 2026).