Zelensky thanks Lee for $100m support package at first summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed renewed gratitude to President Lee Jae Myung over South Korea's $100 million comprehensive support package following their first face-to-face summit.

Zelensky posted on social media Wednesday that he had met with Lee, saying Ukraine was interested in building a productive relationship with South Korea and that the two leaders had discussed matters of mutual importance.

Referring to the support program Lee had personally outlined, Zelensky said he was "grateful for South Korea's recent decision to allocate a $100 million comprehensive support package."

He went on to say he had instructed his team to thoroughly review all matters discussed on Thursday, and again expressed his thanks.

Lee was visiting Ankara, Turkey, to attend the NATO summit when he held his first meeting with Zelensky.

The two leaders discussed security on the Korean Peninsula and in Europe, and agreed that any resolution of the issue of North Korean prisoners of war captured on Ukrainian battlefields must prioritize the free will of the prisoners themselves.

Practical avenues for economic and humanitarian cooperation to support Ukraine's reconstruction were also on the agenda.

The South Korean government has pledged a $100 million comprehensive support package for Ukraine, which Lee outlined during the meeting.

"Our government will continue to provide humanitarian relief support that the people of Ukraine need most," Lee said, adding that South Korea would take a leading role in the international community's collective efforts toward Ukraine's postwar recovery and reconstruction.

Zelensky expressed deep appreciation in response, saying he hoped to work more closely with the international community, including South Korea, toward peace, recovery and a swift end to the war. He added: "In particular, we look forward to the continued attention and active participation of the South Korean government and its companies — with their world-class infrastructure technology — in Ukraine's large-scale postwar reconstruction process."