Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-seop: "The Spirit of Roh Moo-hyun Lives and Breathes in May Gwangju"

Announcement of Memorial Statement on the 12th Anniversary of President Roh Moo-hyun's Passing

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] On the 23rd, marking the 12th anniversary of the passing of President Roh Moo-hyun, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, issued a memorial statement reaffirming the "Roh Moo-hyun spirit alive and breathing in May Gwangju," expressing a strong commitment to innovation, coexistence and integration, balanced regional development, and the spread of the May Gwangju spirit.

The mayor recalled, "The spirit that ran through the five years of the Participatory Government was 'innovation,'" and said, "President Roh Moo-hyun was someone who throughout those five years focused on preparing for tomorrow rather than today, valued meaningful work over popular work, sought difficult and challenging tasks rather than easy and comfortable ones, putting aside personal gain and insisting only on the spirit of the times and the greater cause."

He went on to mention the historic achievements left by President Roh Moo-hyun, including national balanced development, breaking the collusion between politics and business, eliminating authoritarianism, cost-effective elections, a people-centered society, achieving a national income of $20,000, and progress in inter-Korean relations.

The Gwangju city administration under Mayor Lee’s leadership in the 7th term of direct election also shares the same spirit as the 'Roh Moo-hyun spirit.'

The mayor stated, "The successes achieved in a short period with the citizens of Gwangju, such as the success of the Gwangju-type jobs, the establishment of an artificial intelligence cluster, the 2045 carbon neutrality declaration, the groundbreaking of Urban Railway Line 2, the successful hosting of the World Swimming Championships, and the COVID-19 hospital solidarity, were possible because of Roh Moo-hyun-style innovation and challenge," adding, "We will devote ourselves even more to Gwangju innovation to open a new era for Gwangju."

Recalling the time in November 2007 when, as Minister of Construction and Transportation, he attended the opening ceremony of Muan International Airport with President Roh Moo-hyun and broke ground on the Gwangju-Jeonnam joint innovation city, the mayor emphasized, "We will also focus on coexistence and integration between Gwangju and Jeonnam to pass on a prosperous future to the next generation."

Referring to President Roh Moo-hyun’s 2000 run for the 16th National Assembly election in Busan under the slogan of "overcoming regionalism," the mayor pledged, "We will also concentrate on strengthening the Moonlight Alliance for East-West harmony, national integration, and balanced regional development, which the president emphasized so much."

The mayor mentioned his connection with President Roh Moo-hyun and his entry into politics, saying, "I have been in politics for 13 years, having formed a bond with the president through 'innovation,' taking on important roles in the Participatory Government and doing much for the people, and was drawn into politics by the president’s words that 'only politics can change the world.'"

He continued, "The society without unfairness and privilege, a world where common sense and principles prevail, which the president so earnestly wished for, is exactly the world that May Gwangju tried to realize," and paid tribute to President Roh Moo-hyun with a vow to "further spread the May Gwangju spirit to the world and the future."

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