President Lee Jae Myung visited a national hospital in the southwestern Jeolla region for patients suffering from Hansen's disease.

According to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung on Wednesday, Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung met with the patients and hospital staff at the Sorokdo National Hospital in Goheung, South Jeolla Province.

Making the trip to the hospital for the first time as a sitting president, Lee commended the patients for their determination to maintain human dignity and the value of community despite their suffering, adding that social prejudice against them must end.

He also expressed appreciation for the noble sacrifice of and devotion by religious leaders and medical personnel who look after the vulnerable beyond the state's reach.

During Lee's election campaign on May 27, the first lady visited the hospital as the wife of then Democratic Party(DP) presidential candidate, when she promised to return with her husband after the election.