▲ President Lee Jae Myung (R) shakes hands with International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Sept. 17, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

(ATTN: UPDATES with meeting; CHANGES headline, photo)

SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung met with International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol on Thursday and discussed their responses to the global energy crisis.

During the meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Lee said South Korea has faced challenges in its transition to renewable energy sources due to the energy crisis sparked by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

He asked Birol to share his views on how to respond to the crisis and how he expects the situation to develop, saying South Korea will spare no effort to cooperate with the IEA's strategic plans.

The IEA chief noted the emergence of electrification, or the switch from fossil fuels to electric power, as a key policy implication for energy security.

He praised the South Korean government for moving toward electrification, saying the initiative will not only support the country's sovereignty and economy but also contribute to the response to climate change.

The meeting was arranged as a follow-up to Lee's proposal during the Group of Seven summit in June to discuss ways to cooperate to strengthen the resilience of Asia-Pacific nations' energy supply chain, according to the presidential office.

Birol has been at the forefront of efforts to overcome the global energy crisis, such as by getting IEA member countries to release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves in response to the Middle East conflict in March, it said.

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