President Moon Jae-in and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol addressed a wide range of issues during their belated meeting on Monday, which came after weeks of tension. They talked about everything from upcoming state affairs and national security to their pet dogs.

On Monday evening, Moon and Yoon initially met in the front garden space of the Sangchunje guest house at Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office, where they exchanged pleasantries. There were also two chiefs of staff in attendance: Moon's Chief of Staff Yoo Young-min and Yoon's Chief of Staff Chang Je-won, who attended the meeting, which began at 6 p.m. and lasted for two and a half hours.

The dinner meeting was held 19 days after the presidential election, which was the greatest lengthy wait in history of the event. Following a heated exchange on a number of state affairs problems, including the transfer of the presidential office, the initial meeting was called off last minute.

Moon shared information on the trees, flowers, and the venue, Sangchunje, during their greetings. It is the first time the president and the president-elect have met in this location, since their predecessors have often met in the presidential palace or a significant administrative facility inside the Cheong Wa Dae complex.

The meal consisted of seven courses, including bibimbap with spring herbs, which was a highlight of the evening. After an appetizer of seasonal seafood cold salad and pine nut porridge, they moved on to a main course of Korean beef ribs, braised veggies, and grilled blackthroat seaperch, all served alongside red wine. A dish called doenjang jjigae (bean paste stew) with short-necked clams was also on the menu that evening.

Yoon's Chief of Staff Chang stated how the president and the president-elect appeared to be genuinely respectful of each other during a press briefing following their meeting.

In a statement released on Monday, Chang stated that "the two were perceived as determined to make a seamless transfer of regimes and to relieve the concerns of the people."

During their discussions, the two men brought up the subject of the transfer of the presidential office.

With its iconic blue-tiled roof and location in Seoul's Jongno-gu district, Cheong Wa Dae has served as the presidential office throughout the majority of the country's almost seven-decade history. In the meantime, with Yoon making it a campaign promise to move the presidential office to the Defense Ministry facility in Yongsan-gu in Seoul, Moon's office has expressed concerns about a security vacuum.

As Yoon's Chief of Staff Chang noted to reporters on Monday, "President Moon stated that the current government will comply with (the move) after carefully evaluating the budget in accordance with the actual relocation plan."

Chang noted that the two did not discuss the procedural aspects of Yoon's request to use the reserve budget to relocate the office before his inauguration in May, but that they did discuss the timing of the request.

According to Chang, because both Moon and Yoon are well-known for their love of animals, the two also discussed their own dogs.

The two of them chatted about their previous relationship. Chang explained that their pets had the same name as each other, and that they have also spoken about Tori.

Following his inauguration on May 10th, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will have seven companion animals — four dogs and three cats — who will become the nation's "first pets." Tori is the name of one of the dogs, who happens to be the same name as one of Moon's dogs. Tori was adopted by Moon in 2017, shortly after he was elected to the presidency.

During the meeting, Yoon expressed his desire to have Moon's backing. Moon said that he would provide it and instructed Yoon to make use of his previous experience as the country's president in the process.

At the conclusion of their meeting, President Moon presented Yoon with a necktie and wished him success in his next role as prime minister.