President Moon to Hold 'Online' New Year's Meeting on 7th… Kim Jong-in to Attend

President Moon Jae-in [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] President Moon Jae-in will hold a New Year's greeting meeting at 10:30 a.m. on the 7th at the Blue House. Considering social distancing measures due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation, it will be held for the first time as an online video conference.

Kang Min-seok, spokesperson for the Blue House, stated in a written briefing on the 6th, "President Moon will express his gratitude to the people who devoted themselves to overcoming the crisis last year and deliver a New Year's address reflecting his determination to leap forward as a leading nation based on the achievements of our people." He added, "Considering the inconvenience caused to all citizens due to social distancing, the meeting will be held in the form of an online video conference, with about 50 participants from various sectors."

This year's New Year's greeting meeting, held under the theme "A Nation Strong in Crisis, a Reliable Republic of Korea," will be attended by the five key figures including National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok, Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo, Constitutional Court Chief Justice Yoo Nam-seok, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, and Central Election Commission Chairperson Noh Jeong-hee, as well as party leaders such as Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Kim Jong-in, emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party.

Additionally, economic organization heads such as Park Yong-man, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Kim Im-yong, acting president of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise, will attend. Unlike last year, business leaders including heads of the four major domestic conglomerates are excluded from the invitation list.

Furthermore, eight ordinary citizens were specially invited, including hero Koo Chang-sik, CEO of Baro Baro Industrial Development, who rescued 18 residents at the Ulsan mixed-use complex fire site in October last year and donated the entire reward money to charity for the underprivileged.

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