By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol attended the Cyber Summit Korea (CSK) 2024, an international cybersecurity event, at COEX in Seoul on Sept. 11, encouraging government officials and business and academic experts from around the world. The event, which is being held for the first time this year, is co-hosted by the National Intelligence Service and the National Security Technology Institute and will continue until Sept. 12, and will discuss various cybersecurity issues, including how to cooperate with the international community against cyber threats, under the theme o
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Prime Minister Han Duck-soo hosted an inter-ministerial meeting to review the progress in preparations and relevant future plans for the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) on August 30, 2024, at the Government Complex Seoul. The meeting was convened after Gyeongsangbuk-do Gyeongju’s selection as the host city for the AELM on June 27, 2024. The attendees included the Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance, the Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, the
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul met with three newly appointed members of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) -- Vice Chairman Cho Hyun-sang of HS Hyosung, Vice Chairman Lee Kyu-ho of Kolon, and CEO Lee Ju-wan of Megazone Cloud -- on August 26. During the meeting, they exchanged views on the significance of Korea’s role as the chair of 2025 APEC as well as the activities of entrepreneurs within APEC. The Minister requested their full support to ensure the successful hosting of 2025 APEC. Minister Cho emphasized that Korea’s role as chair of APEC nex
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young The 12th International e-Mobility Expo will be held at Jeju Shinhwa World for four days from April 8 next year. The International e-Mobility Expo announced on Aug. 26 that the 12th International e-Mobility Expo Organizing Committee held a launching ceremony at Sejong Law Firm's conference room to hold the event from April 8 to 11, 2025 at Jeju Shinhwa World. At the launching ceremony, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Governor Oh Young-hoon was appointed as the honorary chairman of the event, Silicon Valley Chairman Ossama R. Hassanein was appointed as the
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee hosted an event to encourage the Korean athletes of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Seoul on Aug. 22. The theme of the event, “You, who represented Korea, are the heroes of all of us,” was to honor the athletes who competed with the smallest number of athletes (since the 1984 Olympics) and delivered the best performance in history, inspiring and delighting the nation. The event was organized to honor not only the athletes and coaches who have raised the profile of K-Sports on the world stage with their passi
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young On Aug. 21, the third day of the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, President Yoon Suk-yeol visited the Army Ground Operations Command (GOC) to inspect the military readiness and status of the exercise and to encourage the South Korean and U.S. soldiers participating in the exercise. As a command and control unit of about 250,000 soldiers, more than half of the ROK Armed Forces, the Army GOC is the core unit of national defense that deter North Korea's provocations through training, combat readiness, and ground alert operations in peacetime, and commands al
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol chaired the “Eulji National Security Council” at the Crisis Management Center of the National Security Office on Aug. 19 and reviewed the country's ability to conduct total war in case of wartime and the wartime transition procedures by agencies. The President recalled that North Korea threatens our security by continuing to incite propaganda against South Korea and release filthy balloons while seeking to upgrade its nuclear and missile capabilities, and instructed us to “prepare for and have the capability to respond strongly to any
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol and First lady Kim Keon-hee visited the Seoul National Military Cemetery to pay their respects at the gravesite of Mrs. Yuk Young-soo, the wife of the late former President Park Chung-hee, on the 50th anniversary of her death on Aug. 15. They had heard that a memorial service for the 50th anniversary of Mrs. Yuk's death would be held at the Seoul National Military Cemetery at the same time as the Liberation Day ceremony. In February, the President visited the birthplace of Mrs. Yuk Young-soo in Okcheon, Chungcheongbuk-do, for the first
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee attended the 79th National Liberation Day ceremony at the Sejong Center for the Arts in Seoul on Aug. 15, 2024. The ceremony was attended by more than 2,000 people from all walks of life, including the bereaved families of independence heroes, leading national figures, members of the Korean diplomatic corps, representatives from all walks of life, citizens, and students, who shared the joy of liberation and its historical significance. The celebration, themed “Reclaimed Country, Great People, Greater Korea,”
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee held a dinner with former President and Mrs. Lee Myung-bak at the Presidential Office for about three hours, starting at 6:30 p.m. on Aug.12. The dinner was attended by President and Mrs. Yoon, former President and Mrs. Lee, and Presidential Secretary Chung Jin-suk. This was the first official meeting between President Yoon and former President Lee. President and Mrs. Yoon greeted former President and Mrs. Lee as they arrived at the presidential residence for the dinner. President Yoon said, "Mr. President,
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Iksan Mayor Jung Heon-yul met with EU Ambassador to Korea Maria Castillo Fernandez on Aug. 1 to discuss international medical and cultural exchanges and decentralization of local education. Ambassador Fernandez is from Spain and was appointed as the EU Ambassador to the Republic of Korea in 2020 after serving as the EU Ambassador to Malaysia and the Director General of the European External Relations Agency (EEAS) for India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Prior to the meeting, Ambassador Fernández visited Wonkwang University with Representative Kang Kyung-sook
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young The South Korean National Assembly is a mess. With political conflicts and confrontations reaching a fever pitch, the National Assembly is more focused on political strife than on policies for the people. In this situation, people's expectations of the National Assembly are getting lower and lower, which is causing serious problems across the country. It is not just politicians who are responsible for the current state of the National Assembly. The people are also at fault. They often make poor judgments in elections and are swayed by inflammatory media and f
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Chungnam-do has agreed to expand exchanges with its sister province of Sichuan, China, to include parliamentary, administrative, and sports fields. The provincial government said on July 16 that Chungnam-do Governor Kim Tae-heum and Tian Xiangli, chairman of the Sichuan Provincial Political Consultative Conference, discussed ways to expand public-private cooperation, revitalize exchanges in the high-tech industry, and promote parliamentary and administrative exchanges. The main contents include exchanges between the city council and the Sichuan Provincial Peopl
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Gwangju City Mayor Kang Ki-jeong met with Thai Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Tanee Sangrat in the reception room of the city hall on June 21 to discuss cooperation in high-tech industries such as artificial intelligence (AI) and future cars. "Gwangju City, together with the National Asian Culture Center, has been conducting cultural ODA (official development assistance) projects in Chiang Mai, Thailand, since last year, and Gwangju FC visits Thailand every year for winter training," said Mayor Kang. "I hope that these ties will lead to a stronger relation
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young On the occasion of the Buddha's birthday in 2568 (A.D. 2024), Buddhist temples across the country held ceremonies to celebrate the birth of Buddha. The Buddhist community prayed that Buddhists and people would regain peace of mind and mental health through practice and meditation, and that world peace would be realized, as the theme of this year's celebration, "Peace of Mind, Happy World," was chosen by the Buddha Day Celebration Committee. The ceremony was held at Jogye Temple in Jongno-gu, Seoul, the headquarters of the Jogye sect, with more than 10,000 peo