Breaking with past precedent, newly elected President Yoon Suk-yeol chose the NATO Summit in Madrid as the destination of his first official trip abroad instead of the U.S. Whether or not he and his delegation were successful depends on which side of the aisle one finds themselves on in South Korea.

Conservative observers and media personalities praised the first-ever presidential participation in a NATO meeting as the right step and a success. Kang Chun-Suk, former chief editor of the Chosun Ilbo, wrote that Yoon made certain that the new administration would follow a pro-Western, not pro-Chinese political line.