After Intense Diplomatic Storm, Yoon Appeals for Busan Until Just Before Returning Home... 41 Bilateral Meetings

Returning Home After Bilateral Meetings Following UN General Assembly Attendance
Individual Talks with Leaders of 41 Countries to Secure Busan Expo Hosting
Keynote Speech Highlights Warnings to North Korea and Russia, Focus on Leading Digital Dominance

President Yoon Suk-yeol completed his schedule in New York, USA, on the 22nd (local time) for attending the United Nations General Assembly and headed back home. President Yoon delivered his second keynote speech at the UN General Assembly since taking office and held a total of 41 bilateral meetings during his five-day stay in New York.

On the afternoon of the same day, President Yoon departed for Seoul from New York John F. Kennedy International Airport aboard Air Force One, accompanied by his wife, First Lady Kim Keon-hee. Taking advantage of his visit to New York, President Yoon engaged in a rigorous schedule of individual bilateral meetings with leaders from 41 countries to promote the bid for the 2030 Busan World Expo. In particular, he appealed for support for Busan by having lunch with leaders of Pacific island nations right up until just before his return.

President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee, having completed their schedule including attending the 78th United Nations General Assembly and bilateral talks for hosting the 2030 Busan World Expo, are seen on the 22nd (local time) at New York JFK Airport boarding Air Force One, waving to the farewell crowd.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

An official from the Presidential Office explained President Yoon’s Expo diplomacy on site, stating, "It was carried out according to a meticulously reviewed strategy in terms of content and format beforehand," adding, "The bilateral meetings during this trip were prioritized to consider the bid for the Busan World Expo, and partner countries for bilateral talks were carefully selected. Countries that could elevate cooperative relations through the Busan Expo were chosen, and the form of meetings?whether to hold lunch or dinner?was thoughtfully decided to achieve the best possible outcomes." This means that not only the countries targeted for summit talks but also the formats of bilateral meetings, one-on-one lunches, and group lunches and dinners were all carefully considered in line with the strategy to secure the 2030 Busan Expo.

This year’s keynote speech sharply targeted the military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. President Yoon also expanded the agenda by raising concerns about 'fake news' to the international community. He mentioned the word 'digital' 15 times following 'Republic of Korea,' expressing strong concerns about the spread of fake news. President Yoon stated, "The digital divide is essentially an economic divide," and added, "The Republic of Korea aims to take a leading role in reducing the digital divide by utilizing its strengths in information and communication technology (ICT)." He further highlighted the problem of the spread of fake news caused by the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies. Considering that this issue had been raised multiple times during previous overseas trips, this can be seen as an official declaration of his plan to support the establishment of related international organizations within the UN to counter fake news and to provide a network for communication and collaboration among experts worldwide.

Returning to New York University after one year, President Yoon unveiled the principles of a Digital Bill of Rights, which sets the basic direction for a new digital order. While the 'New York Initiative' presented at the same venue a year ago was based on the importance of a digital order to realize universal values, this time he concretized it and delivered a warning message to the international community. President Yoon’s efforts to seize digital leadership culminated in New York after earlier appearances at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (WEF, Davos Forum) earlier this year and in Paris in June, where he declared the principles of the 'Bill of Rights.'

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