It was the first face-to-face meeting between Silvio Berlusconi and Gerhard Schroeder since the Italian prime minister angered the chancellor with what was considered a major political gaffe. Addressing the European Parliament just one day after Italy took on the rotating presidency of the European Union on July 1, Mr. Berlusconi likened one German lawmaker present at the meeting to a Nazi concentration camp guard.

Mr. Chung ran into controversy before parliamentary elections earlier this year, by saying older voters should stay away from the polls to let younger voters dominate. The comment was seen as a huge gaffe, since Korean society traditionally honors the elderly, and Mr. Chung resigned as the Uri Party's chief campaign manager and withdrew as a parliamentary candidate.