President Moon: "I hope the election will be one of unity, not hostility, hatred, or division" (Comprehensive)

2022 New Year's Address, Urging Active Election Participation... Announcing the Vision of 'Year of Normalization' to Overcome the COVID-19 Crisis

[Asia Economy Reporters Ryu Jeong-min and Lee Ji-eun] President Moon Jae-in, in his '2022 New Year's Address' delivered at the Blue House on the 3rd, expressed his hope that "the election will be one of unity that embraces the hopes of the people, not hostility, hatred, and division," and urged, "Please actively participate in the election and lead good politics."

Additionally, President Moon expressed his ambition regarding COVID-19, stating, "In the new year 2022, we will make it the first year of completely overcoming the crisis and returning to normal."

With four months left in his term, President Moon shared his vision on current issues such as COVID-19, the leap to a leading nation, peace on the Korean Peninsula, the presidential election, and real estate in his New Year's address.

On the 3rd, citizens are watching the live broadcast of President Moon Jae-in's 2022 New Year's address in the Seoul Station waiting room. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

He conveyed his position to do his best in the remaining four months as a government overcoming crises and pioneering the nation's future, rather than as a lame-duck administration preparing to transfer power to the next leadership.

In particular, the 20th presidential election scheduled for March 9 is the greatest focus. President Moon emphasized, "The owners of politics are the people, and the participation of the people is the power that develops democracy and raises the level of politics." It is noteworthy that President Moon defined the significance of this election and urged active participation from the public.

Another key point of President Moon's New Year's address is his vision for the restoration of daily life for the people. He stated, "The number of critically ill patients and deaths will soon shift to a declining trend," and "From this month, oral antiviral treatments will also be used."

However, variables such as the spread of the Omicron variant remain numerous. President Moon said, "The government will look ahead and, together with the people, steadily overcome difficulties step by step while nurturing hope for the restoration of daily life."

Marking the 50th anniversary of the July 4 North-South Joint Declaration this year, President Moon also expressed his intention not to stop efforts to institutionalize the unfinished peace into sustainable peace until the end of his term. Although he did not explicitly mention the term 'end-of-war declaration,' it is an expression of his will to achieve results through the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue.

Real estate remained a focal point even in his final New Year's address of the term. President Moon said, "I will devote all efforts to housing stability until the very end. As the recent decline in housing prices leads to a firm downward stabilization trend, we will accelerate housing supply for actual demanders."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, at the government's New Year's ceremony on the same day, urged, "Public officials, as servants of the entire people, must observe political neutrality," and added, "This year is a year with the presidential election and the nationwide local elections, so please maintain political neutrality and public service discipline."

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