Pres. Yoon is not invited to G7 Summit in Italy

After it was reported that South Korea was not on the invitation list for the upcoming G7 summit talk in Italy this June, the presidential office commented that the South Korean government respects Italy’s decision as it presumably invited related parties to African and Mediterranean challenges which are directly linked to issues regarding refugees in Italy. Earlier, the South Korean government sent a message to the host country of Italy that it would attend the summit talk if invited, but did not receive an invitation. The Democratic Party of Korea criticized that it is a miserable result of the government’s efforts to seek stronger ties with the United States, Japan, and Western countries even while sacrificing its relations with China.

“We intended to join the meeting if invited by Italy. However, it thought over its invitation list until the last minute but asked for our understanding, explaining that it would inevitably have to limit the number of invitees,” a high-ranking official of the presidential office said in a telephone interview with The Dong-A Ilbo on Sunday. “We were told that many G7 leaders supported the idea of inviting South Korea to the meeting and it was a hard decision to make for Italy.”

South Korea has made significant diplomatic efforts to secure an invitation to the G7 summit. The presidential office has noted that European host countries typically invite governments with close ties to European political and focal issues. In the past, France, Germany, and Italy have only invited African nations. Despite this, South Korea has been actively demonstrating its willingness to participate, using every diplomatic channel available. This includes a recent meeting between South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani.

Since 2020, South Korea has been invited to G7 meetings three times. President Yoon Suk Yeol was invited by the host of Japan last year. Former President Moon Jae-in joined the 2020 and 2021 summit talks hosted by the United States and Britain, respectively.

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has raised significant concerns about the Yoon administration’s G7 plus diplomacy. Despite its original goal of strengthening South Korea's global presence, the party argues that the administration's efforts have been ineffective. They view South Korea's exclusion from the G7 summit as a significant setback, suggesting that it reflects a failure to keep pace with the fast-changing international affairs.

“It became a reality that we ended up being relegated to a less developed country overnight,” the Rebuilding Korea Party said, quoting Kim Joon-hyung, a lawmaker-elect who served as former chancellor of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy.


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