President Moon: "Moving Toward the Future with Unity and Inclusion... Hoping for an Election of Integration" (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] President Moon Jae-in on the 3rd delivered a 'national unity' message, stating, "We will open an era of leading nations," and urged integration and inclusion despite differing opinions.

In his New Year's address that day, President Moon said, "Our history has been a great success story of rising above trials and setbacks. It is a history achieved through unity and cooperation despite differences in thought."

President Moon emphasized, "Let us unite again, be more inclusive, and move forward together into the future," adding, "When any government builds upon the achievements of the previous administration and makes a greater leap, the Republic of Korea will continue to advance toward a better future."

He also referred to the upcoming presidential election in March, expressing his hope that "it will be an election of unity that embraces the hopes of the people, not one of hostility, hatred, and division," delivering a message of integration.

Reflecting on his past term, President Moon stated, "Our government, launched without a transition committee during the unprecedented presidential impeachment phase in constitutional history, restored the collapsed constitutional order and advanced democracy," and expressed his determination to make this year the first year of 'crisis overcoming and normalization.'

He also presented four major tasks for this: ▲complete recovery of people's lives ▲era of leading nations ▲improvement of quality of life to advanced country levels ▲institutionalization of peace.

Regarding the leading nation tasks, President Moon stressed, "'Fast follower strategy' is no longer valid," and said, "We will stand at the forefront of the world so that the paths we take in more fields become new paths and new standards."

In this context, he explained, "We will proactively respond to the global supply chain restructuring and technological competition, and accelerate the fostering of national strategic industries and advanced technologies," adding, "Through close cooperation between the government and the private sector, large corporations and small and medium enterprises, we will accelerate industry-specific K-strategies and advance as a leading economic power in the world."

He also expressed his will for daily life recovery. President Moon said, "We will achieve the complete recovery of people's lives," and added, "With the cooperation of the people, the effects of strengthened quarantine measures are appearing. The trend of decreasing confirmed cases is continuing, and the number of critically ill patients and deaths is expected to soon shift to a decreasing trend."

However, he cautioned, "It is too early to be complacent," and added, "The government will look ahead and steadily overcome difficulties together with the people, nurturing hope for the recovery of daily life."

To small business owners who missed the year-end and New Year peak seasons, he promised, "We will do our best to ensure that compensation and support are provided as thickly and swiftly as possible."

Regarding inter-Korean dialogue, he emphasized, "We will not stop efforts to institutionalize peace, which is still incomplete, into sustainable peace until the end of the term," and said, "If given the opportunity, we will seek normalization of inter-Korean relations and an irreversible path to peace until the very end, and hope that dialogue efforts continue in the next government."

Additionally, he said, "We will eliminate welfare blind spots and build a more robust social safety net," and "We will devote all efforts to housing stability until the very end." In particular, he stressed, "We will continue the recent downward trend in housing prices into a firm stabilization and accelerate housing supply for actual demanders," adding, "We will ensure that difficulties do not carry over to the next government."

President Moon concluded, "In the remaining four months, our government will do its utmost as a crisis-overcoming government and a government pioneering the nation's future," and stated, "We will further develop achievements and compensate for shortcomings as much as possible to leave a stronger foundation for leap forward to the next government, which is the remaining task."

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