Yoon "Remembering Those Who Dedicated Themselves for Independence... Duty and Future" (Update)

Gwangbokjeol Celebration Speech... "We Must Reaffirm the Meaning of the Independence Movement Connecting Past and Future"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] President Yoon Suk-yeol stated on the 15th, "We must never forget all those who sacrificed and dedicated themselves for the freedom and independence of the Republic of Korea," adding, "Paying respect and honoring these individuals is not only our duty but also the starting point for future prosperity."

President Yoon attended the 77th Liberation Day celebration held at the lawn yard of the Yongsan Presidential Office that morning and said in his congratulatory speech, "On this Liberation Day, we must once again reflect on the global historical significance of the independence movement that connects the past and the future."

Regarding the anti-Japanese independence movement, he remarked, "As seen in the March 1st Independence Declaration, the Shanghai Provisional Government Charter, and the independence spirit of Maehun Yun Bong-gil, it was aimed at establishing a democratic republic where the people are the owners, a country where freedom, human rights, and the rule of law are respected." He added, "It was never an independence movement to establish a totalitarian state where freedom and human rights are ignored."

President Yoon continued, "When I think of those who, during the dark period of Japanese colonial rule when the future of the homeland was unseen, gave their lives like grass and trees and waged armed struggles both domestically and abroad, and those who practiced noblesse oblige by nurturing armed independence fighters, my heart still swells with emotion and pride."

Meanwhile, on the 14th, a day before Liberation Day, President Yoon visited the home of patriot Kim Young-gwan to express his gratitude. After completing the joint torch relay ceremony for the Korean Liberation Army patriots, President Yoon visited Kim’s residence and said, "We will create a nation that remembers those who sacrificed for the country and realizes first-class veterans affairs and national unity, with the state taking full responsibility."

At the torch relay ceremony, he said, "We must remember until the end the heroes who fell without leaving their names for the independence of the homeland," and added, "The freedom we enjoy to the fullest today stands on the sacrifices of those who, amid the bleak reality and despair of the Japanese colonial period, threw their lives away like grass and trees solely for freedom and the independence of the homeland." He bowed his head in front of the patriots’ memorials and offered his condolences.

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