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,
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By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young | President Yoon Suk-yeol sent congratulatory telegeams to each of the 14 South Korean athletes who have won medals over the past three days at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. In his congratulations to Ban Hyo-jin, the youngest member of the Korean shooting team to win a gold medal in the women's 10-meter air rifle, the President said, “The entire nation held its breath during the last single shot of the youngest member of the Korean Olympic team in Paris and cheered when she won by 0.1 points.” He praised Ban's focus and boldness in winning Korea'
Diplomacy Jon Lee | The Central Election Commission held a meeting and a series of events today, July 26th. The primary agenda item was the preparation and high-level accomplishment of the upcoming elections for the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis and the Councils of People's Deputies in full compliance with the Constitution and laws. According to Article 128 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, are scheduled to take place on the first Sunday of the third ten-day period of October in the year their term expires. Considering that the term of the deputies of the Legislative
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
Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young | The special envoy delegation of President Yoon Suk-yeol, comprised of Presidential Chief of Staff for Policy Sung Tae-yoon and Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Deok-geun, met with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala on July 24 and delivered a letter of thanks from President Yoon for the selection of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) as the preferred bidder for the new nuclear power plant, and discussed follow-up measures. On behalf of the Korean government and Team Korea, Sung Tae-yoon, head of the envoy delegation, expressed his gratitude for the o
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young The Korea War Memorial Organization (KWO) and the U.S. Embassy in Seoul co-hosted a concert by the U.S. Navy Band at the central hall of the War Memorial Hall in Seoul on July 20. The U.S. Navy Band, which visited Korea to attend the 2024 World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) Conference, is the Navy Band of Washington Headquarters, and this is the first time it has performed in Asia. The event was attended by U.S. Ambassador to Korea Philip S. Goldberg and Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Korea, Rear Admiral Neil A. Koprowski. Under the dire
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol's “sales diplomacy” played a key role in South Korea's $17.3 billion winning bid for new nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic on July 17, beating out France, according to market analysts. The Czech government has picked Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) as preferred bidder to build two nuclear reactors, marking South Korea's first overseas order for a large-scale nuclear power project since 2009. The three summits he held with the President of Czech Republic after taking office and his request for cooperation were said to ha
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol met with Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg on July 11 and exchanged views on major international issues and Korea-NATO cooperation. The President noted that the partnership between South Korea and NATO has progressed by leaps and bounds during Stoltenberg's tenure (2014-2024), including the establishment of the NATO-ROK Individualized Tailored Partnership Program (ITPP), and expressed his appreciation for the Secretary General's contributions to the development of the NATO-ROK relations
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is in Washington, D.C., for the NATO Summit, attended the NATO Indo-Pacific Partners (IP4) (South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand) Summit on July 11. Hosted by New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, this is the third IP4 Summit, following the 2022 and 2023 meetings, and was joined by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles. The leaders recognized the close cooperation among the four countries, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, which share common values
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden adopted a "Joint Statement on Guidelines for Nuclear Operations for Nuclear Deterrence on the Korean Peninsula" during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 11 (local time). "The two leaders reaffirmed that any North Korean nuclear attack on the Republic of Korea will be met with an immediate, overwhelming and decisive response," Kim Tae-hyo, deputy director of the National Security Office, said in a briefin
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young "Mercy in the heart, peace in the world!" This is the theme of the 2019 Buddha’s birthday celebration in the year of the Buddha, 2563! However, in recent years, we have witnessed many conflicts and instability around the world. Conflicts between nations, racial tensions, mistrust in politics, economic inequality, and many other issues have disrupted our daily lives. In the midst of this turmoil, the values of peace and mercy are more important than ever. The need for peace Conflict around the world is not just a localized problem. The modern world is globaliz
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol visited the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii on July 9. This is the first time a Korean president has visited the command, with former President Kim Young-sam having visited the Pacific Command in 1995. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command has the largest area of responsibility (approximately 100 million square miles, or 52 percent of the Earth's total area) among the six U.S. unified combatant commands (Northern, Southern, Indo-Pacific, European, Central, and African) and plays a critical role in the security of the Korean Peninsula, incl