President Lee apologizes after poll slide while deepening Belgium ties on Europe trip

President Lee Jae Myung offered an apology on Wednesday in response to a sharp drop in his approval ratings after last week’s local elections during his trip to Belgium as part of a 10-day Europe tour.

“I apologize to the people,” Lee wrote on his X account on Wednesday. “I humbly accept the objective assessment of the people. I will work harder with greater humility, a broader perspective and greater inclusiveness.”

He referred to an opinion poll released by Korea Society Opinion Institute over Monday and Tuesday that showed his approval rating dropped to 50.4 percent, down 9.4 percentage points from the last week of May.

Lee, who marked his one-year anniversary on June 4, has seen approval ratings around 60 percent over the past year. The institute said the results likely reflect disappointment over the ruling Democratic Party’s failure to win the Seoul mayor and other key posts despite an overall victory in the June 3 local elections. The elections were marred by a ballot shortage in some polling stations, leading to ongoing protests.

On Sunday, Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung began their first trip to Europe, which will also take them to Italy and France for the Group of Seven (G7) summit. Lee was invited to the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, as an invited partner nation for a second consecutive year.

After arriving in Brussels on Sunday, Lee met with members of the Korean community in Belgium and pledged to support the diaspora there.  

Lee held his first bilateral summit with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever in Brussels on Wednesday and agreed to deepen cooperation in strategic industries, trade and investment and education.   

The two sides agreed to expand ties on battery materials, energy and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a press briefing.

The summit comes as Korea and Belgium mark the 125th anniversary of diplomatic ties this year.

The two leaders positively assessed the 15th anniversary of the Korea-EU FTA and agreed to provide support to ensure that corporate investments in the battery materials and energy sectors continue to expand, broadening cooperation into strategic industries.

Belgium is a logistics hub in Europe, and the Port of Antwerp is the second-largest port in the European Union and also home to the largest integrated chemical cluster in Europe.  

During Lee's visit, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation between SMEs and startups and agreed to explore ways to foster mutual growth by serving as hubs for SMEs' overseas expansion.

Lee mentioned that approximately 120 Korean researchers are collaborating in the field of nano-semiconductor technologies at Imec, a leading semiconductor research institute headquartered in Belgium, Kang said. The president expressed his hope that research cooperation between the two countries through Imec would continue to expand so that they could jointly enjoy the benefits from the development of future semiconductor technology.

Wever reportedly said that cooperation with Korea, home to world-class semiconductor companies, is also beneficial for Belgium and that he is paying close attention to strengthening ties between the two countries in this field.

The two leaders also discussed plans to resume direct flights between Korea and Belgium and cooperation in the education sector to encourage people-to-people exchanges.

Kang said that the two leaders also exchanged views on major regional situations and shared the understanding that security in Europe and Asia is closely interconnected. They also noted that peace on the Korean Peninsula contributes to stability and prosperity in the international community beyond the region.

Lee explained his government's efforts to resume inter-Korean dialogue and requested Belgium's interest and support for its Korean Peninsula peace overtures.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]