South Korea's president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a news conference at the National Assembly in Seoul on March 10, 2022. (KIM HONG-JI / POOL / AFP)
SEOUL – The office of South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-Yeoul on Thursday denied Japanese media reports that he had asked to attend an upcoming summit of the Quad, which includes the United States, India, Australia and Japan, as an observer.
"We have checked around about that report but it is not true and something that was not discussed with us," his spokesperson Bae Hyun-jin said during a regular briefing.
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Asked about possible summits with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Bae added Yoon "welcomes" early meetings.
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Yoon, who will take office on May 10, is working to map out his foreign policy directions, with a potential summit in Seoul with Biden during his Asia trip when he visits Japan.