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President Lee Jae-myung delivers his keynote address at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 23. / Source: Yonhap News

President Lee Jae-myung used his first United Nations General Assembly address on September 23 to outline a peace initiative for the Korean Peninsula and to declare South Korea’s full return to democracy following last year’s political turmoil under emergency martial law.

Lee presented the “END Initiative,” centered on Exchange, Normalization, and Denuclearization, as a roadmap to end decades of division and nuclear threats on the peninsula. Stressing that “peace on the Korean Peninsula means peace for the world,” he pledged Korea would shoulder its responsibility to turn its restored democracy into a global force for democratic resilience.

Citing Nobel Prize-winning author Han Kang, Lee declared, “Today, I proudly announce at this General Assembly that a new Korea, ready to be a beacon for world peace and shared prosperity, has fully returned to the international community.” His remarks drew sustained applause from delegates.

During his U.S. trip, Lee also hosted the first-ever “Korea Investment Summit” at the New York Stock Exchange, urging investors to look past geopolitical risks. He met U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and bipartisan members of Congress to press for “commercial rationality” in U.S.-Korea tariff negotiations, and secured commitments from BlackRock Chairman Larry Fink to develop a multi-billion-dollar Asia-Pacific AI hub in Korea.

Lee further underscored South Korea’s role as a “global responsible power” by presiding—also a first for a Korean leader—over an open debate at the UN Security Council. He pledged to lead global cooperation so that artificial intelligence becomes “a tool for humanity’s sustainable future,” introducing the concept of an “AI Basic Society” that links technological progress to citizens’ welfare.

His itinerary also included defense, semiconductor, and electric-vehicle partnership talks with leaders from Central and Eastern Europe, part of his “practical diplomacy centered on national interest.”

Lee returned to Seoul on September 25 after five days in the U.S. and is expected to focus on domestic affairs and preparations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju next month.