Lee earlier said Seoul and Washington were in discussions over US visa quotas for South Korean workers. At the meeting with some 300 Koreans, Lee pledged to improve the current voting system, as voting for overseas Koreans often involves long trips to designated polling stations. He was expected to speak on the return of democracy in South Korea and outline his government’s foreign policy priorities. Lee is the first South Korean president to chair such a session. South Korea currently holds the council’s rotating chairmanship as a nonpermanent member.