President Moon Jae-in congratulated the new leader of the main opposition People Power Party Lee Jun-seok in a phone call on Friday. 

Presidential secretary for public communication Park Soo-hyun said that Moon called Lee around 1:20 p.m. before leaving for Britain to attend the Group of Seven(G7) summit.

The president commended Lee for his feat, saying his election will go down in political history. Moon called it a sign of change not only in politics but also the country as a whole.

The 36-year-old Lee was elected the main opposition leader earlier in the day, marking the first time in the country’s constitutional history for a candidate in his or her 30s to lead a major party.  

President Moon also asked for the opposition's cooperation with the government amid the ongoing pandemic despite inevitable differences on partisan matters ahead of next year's presidential election.