President Moon Jae-in's Farewell Address: "Time to Heal Deep Divisions and Move Toward National Unity"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] President Moon Jae-in stated in his farewell speech on the morning of the 9th, “When we bridge the deepened divisions from the election process and move toward the path of national unity, we will advance more vigorously on the true path to success.”

Below is the full text of the farewell address.

Dear respected citizens, I lay down the heavy burden of being president. I extend my infinite gratitude to all the citizens who have supported me with overwhelming love and support.

I wish happiness for all citizens and will cheer for the successful history of the Republic of Korea. The past five years have been a period of navigating continuous national crises amid the turbulent center of world history alongside the people. It was difficult, but our citizens stood united in the face of crisis.

The Republic of Korea has grown stronger through crises and achieved greater leaps forward. The national prestige of Korea has also risen. Korea is now an advanced country and a leading nation.

We are truly great. I am immensely proud to have been with such a great people. My farewell address is a tribute dedicated to the great citizens.

When the constitutional order was overturned by the political scandal, our citizens replaced the government and restored democracy through the most peaceful and cultural candlelight rallies and the lawful impeachment process prescribed by the constitution and laws.

The whole world admired the maturity of the Korean people. Our citizens became a beacon of hope for democracy worldwide, which was undergoing crises.

I am solemnly reflecting on how well our government responded to the aspirations of the candlelight square demanding a country worthy of the name.

However, even if our government did not achieve everything, the people's aspiration for a country worthy of the name will never cease. The hope of the candlelight movement will continue to bloom as our hope and driving force.

Our citizens successfully hosted the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics as a Peace Olympics. The world once again was enthusiastic about Korea. From the early days of my term, the heightened war crisis on the Korean Peninsula was transformed into a phase of dialogue and diplomacy, nurturing hope for a new era of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.

Our inability to move forward was not solely due to a lack of will or effort. On the other hand, there were barriers that were difficult to overcome by will alone.

These are the walls we must overcome. Peace is a condition for our survival and prosperity. I earnestly hope that efforts to institutionalize denuclearization and peace will continue alongside the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue.

We must never forget that we overcame the crisis caused by Japan’s unfair export restrictions through the united strength of the entire nation. We took this as an opportunity for self-reliance in materials, parts, and equipment industries, and strengthening the competitiveness of these industries led to strengthening the competitiveness of manufacturing.

Our ability to achieve record-high export performance amid the global economic downturn caused by COVID-19 was also thanks to the world-class competitiveness of our manufacturing industry.

Above all, what was most valuable was learning the successful way to solve problems. A collaborative system that transcended government ministries, cooperation among large and small businesses and researchers, the government’s active R&D investment and full support by dismantling regulations, and above all, the encouragement and support of all citizens gave us the confidence that we could do it too.

This successful approach worked the same way when developing COVID-19 diagnostic kits later, rapidly increasing mask production, improving the efficiency of special syringes for vaccination, and resolving the shortage of urea solution.

Citizens, the last COVID-19 response situation report I received was the 969th. From January 20, 2020, when the first domestic COVID-19 case was confirmed, I read the report every day upon waking, even on holidays or during overseas trips, and when the situation was severe, several reports were issued per day, continuing up to the 969th report.

Within these reports are the efforts and dedication of the government, quarantine teams, and medical staff. They vividly contain the prolonged suffering and difficult lives of the people.

The citizens, the government, and the president all endured great hardships. However, I was constantly moved by the high capability of our people who grow stronger in times of crisis. It is astonishing that many proud achievements during our government occurred amid the COVID-19 crisis.

This was truly the resilience of Korea, strong in crisis. After experiencing the global COVID-19 crisis together, Korea unexpectedly emerged as a leading model country in quarantine worldwide.

We once envied the quarantine and medical standards of advanced countries, but after facing the crisis, we found that we were among the best. Many citizens who still thought we were weak and backward rediscovered ourselves and gained self-esteem.

During the COVID-19 crisis, Korea recovered its economy the fastest and grew significantly to a per capita income of $35,000. Korean Wave culture stood out even more when the world was suffering from COVID-19, providing comfort to people worldwide.

The Korean New Deal declared during our government’s COVID-19 crisis established Korea as a strong country in advanced science and technology fields such as digital and innovation,

and the Green New Deal and carbon neutrality declaration made Korea a leading country in responding to the climate crisis and international cooperation.

Through the COVID-19 crisis, Korea has become a leading country in many fields including democracy, economy, exports, digital, innovation, quarantine, healthcare, culture, military power, defense industry, climate crisis response, diplomacy, and international cooperation.

Finally, we have removed our masks and face each other. The COVID-19 infectious disease level was lowered from Level 1 to Level 2.

The crisis is not over yet. New crises are emerging. However, our citizens will overcome any crisis and turn it into an opportunity.

Citizens, the history of Korea’s success is all the more valuable because it rose above all trials and hardships. Korea has become the most successful country in the world over the past 70 years since World War II, the only country to advance from a developing country to an advanced country after World War II.

This is an undeniable brilliant achievement and pride of Korea. Our government is very grateful to have been able to raise Korea’s national prestige and pride to a higher level by overcoming crises and leaping forward as a leading country together with the people.

Korea has risen as a “country strong in crisis,” “a country no one can shake,” and “a world-leading country” amid global crises.

The main actors are undoubtedly our citizens. Korea is recognized and envied by the world as truly “a country of great people.” I hope we all take pride confidently in our elevated national prestige as great citizens.

I am very proud to have accompanied the great people in the successful history of Korea. It was truly an honor to be with such great citizens.

I hope the next government continues the successful history of Korea. I pray that it inherits and develops the accumulated achievements of previous governments, grows stronger, and moves toward a better future. Above all, uniting the hearts of the people is most important.

When we bridge the deepened divisions from the election process and move toward the path of national unity, Korea will advance more vigorously on the true path to success.

Thank you.

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