President Moon: "I Clearly Feel That Our Country's Status Has Risen" (Comprehensive)

Constitutional Institution Heads Invited to Blue House Luncheon to Explain European Tour Results... National Assembly Speaker Mentions Conduct Issues of Executive Branch Heads

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] "As we navigated the COVID-19 crisis, (foreign leaders) highly appreciated Korea's quarantine capabilities, economic strength, and our status within the global supply chain, and expressed a strong desire to cooperate more closely with Korea."

President Moon Jae-in said this on the 30th during a luncheon at the Blue House, where he invited heads of constitutional institutions including National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug, Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su, Constitutional Court Chief Justice Yoo Nam-seok, and Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum. Central Election Commission Chairperson Noh Jeong-hee was unable to attend due to court schedule conflicts.

President Moon repeatedly emphasized Korea's elevated status, mentioning his attendance at the Group of Seven (G7) summit and his visits to Austria and Spain. He explained, "Since my first year in office, I have attended many multilateral summits such as the G20, ASEM, and APEC, but crossing through the COVID-19 pandemic, I could clearly feel that our country's status and role have risen significantly compared to before."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Moon shared an experience from his state visit to Spain. He said, "Spain specially showed us the ‘Joseon Kingdom Map’ found in world atlases," adding, "It confirmed that Ulleungdo and Dokdo are Korean territories. I believe this was a great gesture of goodwill towards Korea."

He continued, "Thanks to our citizens and the continuous cooperation of our five branches of government, we could once again confirm that our status and role have greatly increased and expanded. I am very grateful and also proud of this."

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug said, "We are pleased that the President has elevated our national prestige through his visits to the United States and the United Kingdom. It also reminded us how important face-to-face diplomacy is," adding, "From my visits to several countries, I found that there was tremendous interest in Korea’s COVID-19 response capabilities and K-quarantine."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Speaker Park expressed concern about the upcoming presidential election, saying, "As we enter the election phase, there is a possibility that the National Assembly and the executive branch could be influenced by the election," and added, "I believe the attitude and mindset of public officials are extremely important. Especially, I hope that the conduct of institutional heads does not negatively affect our public service community."

Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su said, "I am proud and very pleased that the President invited us and gave a detailed explanation about the results of his recent visits," adding, "Although the COVID-19 situation is not completely over, Korea has been recognized both domestically and internationally for its excellent response compared to other countries."

Chief Justice Kim added, "I think it is time for all parts of our society to resume their normal roles," and said, "I will always monitor any possible gaps in the role of our courts and do my best to ensure that such issues do not cause harm to the public or society."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Constitutional Court Chief Justice Yoo Nam-seok said, "The President’s attendance at this G7 summit signifies that Korea has become a leading country in discussing important international issues," and added, "We are proud that Korea has moved beyond a narrow perspective focused only on domestic issues to become a country that promotes universal values shared by the global community and leads international cooperation."

Chief Justice Yoo continued, "I look forward to all national institutions and citizens fulfilling their roles befitting a leading country in their respective fields. I also thank the President for his hard work in elevating our country's status through diplomacy."

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said, "The citizens who have cooperated by wearing masks are gradually getting tired, so the key is how quickly we can restore daily life," adding, "Perhaps due to some complacency on our part, the number of confirmed cases has increased slightly in recent days, and the mention of the frightening variant viruses has made us very alert."

Additionally, Prime Minister Kim said, "Although many lawmakers demanded universal disaster relief payments, please understand that we had no choice but to organize the budget as we did. We will do our best to ensure that this becomes a collective achievement in overcoming COVID-19 for all citizens."

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