Yoon: "Youth Are Partners in State Affairs... They Must Be Able to Voice Their Opinions"

President Yoon and spouse attend '2023 Youth Day Ceremony'
"Expo, an opportunity for youth... hope to support hosting efforts"

President Yoon Suk-yeol stated on the 14th at a gathering of about 2,400 young people, "I believe that the youth are truly partners in national governance."

President Yoon attended the '2023 Youth Day Commemoration Ceremony' held at the Busan Cinema Center in Haeundae-gu, Busan in the afternoon, saying, "Young people should be able to voice their opinions not only on youth policies but also across the entire spectrum of national affairs including the economy, society, and culture."

The ceremony was organized to widely promote 'Youth Day,' a statutory commemorative day designated under the Youth Basic Act, and to raise social awareness of youth issues. Notably, this year it was held in Busan to reflect the aspirations of South Korea's 2030 youth for the 2030 Busan World Expo bid.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is performing an uppercut ceremony at the Youth Day commemorative event held on the 14th at the Busan Haeundae-gu Cinema Center. Photo by Yonhap News

In his commemorative speech, President Yoon announced, "We will appoint youth members to all committees to ensure that the voices of young people are reflected in national governance," and added, "The youth advisory roles and the 2030 advisory group, which were operated on a pilot basis, will be expanded to 24 government ministries." Furthermore, he said, "The number of government department interns will be increased from 2,000 to 5,000 so that more young people can gain work experience in the government." He also mentioned, "The Busan Expo will serve as a platform of opportunity by sharing values of freedom and prosperity among young people and building a network of cooperation," urging the youth to strongly support the bid for the Busan Expo.

Meanwhile, President Yoon also presented awards and recognition to three individuals for their contributions to youth policy (Park Joo-hee, Secretary General of the Youth Foundation; Choi Soo-ji, Youth Advisor at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Jeon Young-min, Manager at the Busan Youth Center) and one team (led by Kim Yeon-su, a university student at Sungshin Women's University) who won the Youth Policy Contest on the same day.

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