Summit 'Satisfaction' Expressed by Tak Hyun-min: "Burned Out Completely, Seems No Feeling of Incompleteness"

Tak Hyun-min, Protocol Secretary at the Blue House, is attending the 'Korean New Deal National Report Conference' held at the Blue House's Yeongbingwan on July 14th last year. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] Tak Hyunmin, the Blue House Protocol Secretary, who accompanied the Korea-US summit as the protocol officer, evaluated the summit by saying, "Unlike several previous summits, this time it seems there was no sense of incompleteness from the protocol or event planning perspective."

Secretary Tak appeared on TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' on the 28th and expressed his satisfaction with the summit, saying, "I burned out completely."

He especially mentioned the 'no-mask meeting' between the Korean and US leaders, saying, "From the perspective of protocol officers, masks block everything. You can't eat together, have a conversation, or show friendliness, so just removing this (mask) is actually more significant than any summit in the past year, and the fact that it was not a virtual (meeting) is also remarkable."

Regarding the selection of the venue for the Korea-US bilateral summit, he explained, "Both visually and in terms of quarantine, it is much safer to create a space outdoors with an open view rather than having the two leaders in a confined space."

President Moon Jae-in is taking a commemorative photo with U.S. President Joe Biden and the family of retired Colonel Ralph Perkett Jr. at the Korean War Medal of Honor ceremony held in the East Room of the White House on the afternoon of the 21st (local time).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Also, about President Moon attending the U.S. government's Medal of Honor ceremony as the first foreign leader, he said, "He was invited to the Korean War Medal of Honor ceremony. The scene where the Korean and U.S. presidents kneeled together for a commemorative photo while awarding the Medal of Honor to veterans will be historically remembered for a long time."

When asked if Secretary Tak planned the commemorative photo, he drew a line, saying, "I did not do that." He added, "After the Medal of Honor ceremony, President Moon said, 'It would be good if we also had a form of medal ceremony that truly highlights the contributions of such people, so please consider various ideas.'"

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