President Moon Congratulates New Zealand Prime Minister Ardern on Re-election, Hopes for Continued Development of Bilateral Relations

President Moon Jae-in SNS Message

President Moon Jae-in is having a phone conversation with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the Blue House on July 28.

President Moon Jae-in expressed on the 18th his hope for the continued development of relations between South Korea and New Zealand as the ruling Labour Party won a landslide victory in New Zealand's general election, securing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's re-election, saying, "We will overcome the global COVID-19 crisis together."

In a message on social media that day, President Moon sincerely congratulated Prime Minister Ardern on her "overwhelming re-election victory," adding, "Your leadership characterized by empathy, consideration, and communication shone even brighter amid the crisis."

The Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Ardern, won a landslide victory in the New Zealand general election held on the 17th (local time), securing re-election.

According to New Zealand media, the Labour Party won 64 seats out of 120 parliamentary seats for a three-year term, enough to form a single-party government, significantly defeating the National Party, which secured only 35 seats.

Prime Minister Ardern, who succeeded in securing re-election, became one of the youngest heads of government in the world when she took office at the age of 37 in 2017. She was noted for her distinctive awareness of women's rights as a woman and was recorded as the second head of government in the world to give birth while in office.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ardern recently mentioned allegations of sexual harassment by a former South Korean diplomat stationed in New Zealand during a phone call with President Moon.

Earlier, New Zealand broadcaster NewsHub reported that Mr. A, a South Korean diplomat who worked at the South Korean Embassy in New Zealand at the end of 2017, was accused of sexually harassing a male employee, but due to the South Korean government's lack of cooperation, the New Zealand police investigation has not proceeded.

As the issue became controversial locally, it was reported that Prime Minister Ardern raised the matter with President Moon during a phone call in July.

Kang Min-seok, spokesperson for the Blue House, stated in a written briefing at the time, "The two leaders also exchanged views on the sexual harassment allegations against our diplomat," but did not disclose the details of their conversation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.