President Lee Jae Myung ”gave up the seat of honor” after Japan-Korea leaders sat in front of each other's flags

On the 17th (local time), the South Korean Presidential Office said, "President Lee Jae-myung and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sat in front of each other's country's flag during the Japan-South Korea summit.
During the Japan-Korea summit held during the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada, President Lee arrived at the venue first and sat on the left side.
When Prime Minister Ishiba arrived, he sat to the right of President Lee. This meant that President Lee was sitting in front of the Hinomaru flag, and Prime Minister Ishiba was sitting in front of the Taegeukgi (the national flag of South Korea).
A South Korean presidential office official said, "We did it this time to ensure smooth dialogue," and "we sat down first."
The explanation given was that this is due to the custom of the guest country taking its seat first and offering up the "upper seat."