The Yonhap News Agency said in a report Lee was expected to support ongoing trade talks between South Korea and the US during his trip.

South Korea’s presidential spokeswoman Kang Yu-jung said she was not aware of Lee’s trip and could not provide further comment on matters related to a private company.

Top South Korean government officials are converging on Washington in a push to clinch a trade deal ahead of an Aug 1 deadline to remove or reduce tariffs threatened by US President Donald Trump against the country’s key industrial exports.

Finance minister Koo Yun-cheol said today he would seek a mutually beneficial trade deal when he meets US treasury secretary Scott Bessent for talks this week, while foreign minister Cho Hyun is set to meet US secretary of state Marco Rubio.