Ottawa: President Lee Jae Myung held a meeting with leaders of the European Union (EU) on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada on Tuesday and discussed ways to broaden economic cooperation, Lee's office said. Lee met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, marking their first talks since he took office on June 4.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Lee and the EU leadership evaluated the increased trade and investment following South Korea's free trade deal with Europe and shared a consensus to expand cooperation in digital, environment, and security. They also exchanged opinions on regional security issues, including the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in Ukraine, the office said, without providing further details.

In a joint statement, Von der Leyen and Costa congratulated Lee on his election victory and highlighted "closer than ever" relations between South Korea and the EU "in all areas." "We're committed to work closely under our Security and Defence Partnership, given the shared challenges we face," they said. "We both support a free and sovereign Ukraine. And we both support tough sanctions on Russia to that end."