President Lee Jae-myung sends condolences on the 14th following the news of the death of former Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik will be dispatched as a special envoy to offer condolences. According to the Blue House, Chief Kang will leave for Qatar this afternoon, deliver President Lee's condolences as a special envoy for condolences, and return to Korea on the 16th. The dispatch of Kang's special envoy was accomplished at the request of Qatar. In the past, when the king or monarch of a Gulf country in the Middle East passed away, there was a precedent for a member of the State Council to be dispatched as a special envoy. During the consultation process, Qatar reportedly made a specific request to dispatch Director Kang. As Director Kang has visited the Middle East several times as President Lee's special envoy for strategic and economic cooperation, there is a possibility that high-level discussions on energy supply between the two countries will take place through this visit. Director Kang visited Qatar in April this year and paid a courtesy visit to the current Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and discussed the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Former Emir Sheikh Hamad was the founder of ‘Modern Qatar’, which raised Qatar to a representative powerhouse in the Middle East.