Then-South Korean President Lee Myung-bak decided to visit a pair of South Korean-controlled islets in 2012 that lie at the center of a dispute with Japan — the first ever by a South Korean head of state — before he took office, according to his memoir, which hit shelves on Monday.

Lee, who served as president for five years until 2013, said in the memoir, titled "President's Time," that he felt a presidential visit was needed to impress upon the international community that the islands, known as Dokdo in South Korea and as Takeshima in Japan, belong to South Korea.

He wrote that he originally planned to fly there in August 2011, but his trip was called off due to bad weather, and it eventually took place Aug. 10, 2012.