SOUTH KOREA: The President of the Republic of Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, and First Lady Kim Keon Hee invited 14-year-old Aok Rotha from Cambodia, who underwent heart surgery in Korea, to the President's Office on Tuesday, 31 January 2023.

President Yoon Suk Yeol met the Cambodian boy, who is now preparing to return home after successfully completing heart surgery, at his office in Seoul, according to the President’s office.

First Lady Kim Keoun Hee thanked Korean Airlines for bringing Aok Rotha to Korea and flying him back to Cambodia safely, as she was concerned about how Rotha would depart back to Cambodia with his heart condition.

She also thanked and expressed her appreciation for the medical staff at Seoul Asan Medical Center who successfully operated on the boy.

"Since meeting with the government in Cambodia in November, everything that has happened so far has felt like a miracle," Kim Keon Hee said in a statement.

Aok Rotha also wrote a thank-you note on a postcard decorated with flowers and presented it as a gift to the President and his wife.

First Lady Kim Keon Hee first met Rotha when she accompanied her husband to the ASEAN Summit, Chaired by Cambodia in November 2022.