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| President Lee Myung-bak makes speech on the 66th anniversary of Liberation Day on Aug. 15 at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Jongno, Seoul, to mark the nation’s independence from Japanese rule for 35 years. [YONHAP] |
In his Liberation Day address on Aug. 15 at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul, President Lee Myung-bak once again emphasized that North Korea cannot accomplish anything through provocations.
“Over the past 60 years, the South and North have lived in conflict,” said Lee. “Now is the time to overcome it and open up an age of peace and cooperation. The two sides should bring about peace based on mutual trust, pursuing common prosperity through bilateral cooperation.”
He also said that it is incumbent for the two sides to build up mutual trust with responsible deeds and a sincere stance.
“Humanitarian assistance for children in the North will continue,” Lee said. “Humanitarian support to help it recover from natural disasters will also be continuously carried out.”
The president also said, “We have yet to resolve the greatest issue in modern Korean history. That is the issue of national reunification. Reunification would be the perfection of national liberation.”
In his remarks related to South Korea-Japan relations, Lee said, “Japan has a responsibility to teach its young generation the truth about what happened in the past.”
Moreover, he stressed that for the sake of the future relationship, South Korea will not be bound by the unfortunate past, but at the same time, the South Korean people can never forget the history of the recent past altogether.
“We can allow young people in [South] Korea and Japan to forge ahead into the new era with a correct recognition and understanding of history,” Lee said. “This kind of cooperation will greatly contribute to the peace and prosperity of the world as well as Northeast Asia.”
The president also stressed the need for a new model of market economy by calling for the new form of governance “ecosystemic development” for the sake of mutual prosperity and development in South Korean society.
“The existing market economy must evolve,” said Lee. “What is now being demanded is a new model of the market economy that evolves from greedy management to ethical management; from the freedom of capital to the responsibility of capital; and from the vicious circle of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer to mutual prosperity.”
The president’s latest governing theme is the fourth since entering the Blue House in 2008. In his first year, Lee promoted low-carbon green growth, followed by pro-working class policy based on centrist pragmatism in his second year. Last year, he unveiled his administration’s campaign for a fair society.