[Full Text] President Moon: "A Nation for Individual Life and Dignity"… 75th Liberation Day Celebration Speech

President Moon Jae-in is delivering a congratulatory speech at the 75th Liberation Day celebration held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul on the morning of the 15th. August 15, 2020 [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] President Moon Jae-in said on the 15th, "I think of a country that exists not for the individual to serve the nation, but for the nation to guarantee the individual's dignified life," adding, "The 'Era of Article 10 of the Constitution,' where all citizens have the right to pursue dignity, value, and happiness as human beings, is the goal our government aims to realize."

Below is the full text of President Moon's congratulatory speech at the '75th Anniversary Liberation Day Celebration.'

[Full Text]

Respected citizens,

Independence patriots and their families,

Overseas compatriots,

On this day marking the 75th anniversary of liberation,

we recall the noble sacrifices and spirit of the ancestors

who devoted everything to achieve the nation's independence.

Today's celebration began

by welcoming the surviving patriots.

Patriot Im Woo-cheol is 101 years old,

and the other three are also close to a hundred years old.

No form of honor

can match the proud development and pride

each of them has created for the Republic of Korea.

There are only thirty-one surviving patriots by our side now.

Please give a strong round of applause

to patriots Im Woo-cheol, Kim Young-kwan, Lee Young-soo, and Jang Byung-ha,

who have made such precious journeys,

expressing deep respect and gratitude.

Our liberation was achieved by each individual

rising together as owners of the democratic republic.

All those who became protagonists of their own lives,

achieving great and small accomplishments,

have become the roots of our lives today.

The ancestors

left us the belief that 'any crisis can be overcome together'

as the 'root of a great history,'

and we confirmed our own capabilities again

by overcoming the COVID-19 crisis together.

Now, massive natural disasters caused by climate change

threaten our daily lives once again.

However, we will surely overcome this as well.

We extend our deepest condolences to those who lost precious lives

and to all those affected by the disasters,

and we will do our utmost to confront the disasters and restore safety

to protect the lives and property of the people.

Also, preparing for even more severe weather anomalies in the future,

we will devote all our efforts to public safety

to prevent repeated pain.

We pay tribute to the independence patriots and their families

who have become the pride of the Republic of Korea,

and promise to overcome today's crises and disasters

together with the people.

Citizens,

Today, the Dongdaemun Design Plaza where we gather

was the site of the Training Command and Training Institute during the Joseon Dynasty.

During the Japanese colonial period, it became Gyeongseong Stadium, and after liberation, Seoul Stadium,

and for a long time, it was known as Dongdaemun Stadium,

a place holding countless histories of sweat and effort.

Among them, the sweat shed by colonial Joseon youth Son Ki-jeong

will be remembered as the hottest and most poignant drops of sweat.

In 1935 at Gyeongseong Stadium, Son Ki-jeong emerged as the winner of the 10,000-meter race,

and the following year, he won the marathon at the Berlin Olympics with a world record.

At the moment the Japanese national anthem was played,

gold medalist Son Ki-jeong covered the Japanese flag on his chest with a laurel sapling,

and bronze medalist Nam Seung-ryong bowed his head and closed his eyes.

It was a great victory that restored the nation's pride,

but there was no country to dedicate the glory of victory to.

Our independence movement was not only about regaining the country,

but also about establishing the dignity of each individual.

We simultaneously achieved independence and

the revolution of establishing a democratic republic with popular sovereignty.

The efforts of our people to build a proud country that will never lose to anyone

did not stop even after liberation.

We transformed from the poorest country receiving aid

to one of the world's top 10 economic powers,

and set a global milestone for democracy by standing against dictatorship.

There was a time when the state demanded individual sacrifices

and suppressed human rights,

but we never stopped moving toward a 'country worthy of the name,'

where freedom, equality, dignity, and safety

are the natural rights of every citizen.

Our people have overcome many crises.

We survived the ravages of war and overcame the foreign exchange and financial crises.

We also overcame the crisis of Japan's export restrictions together with the people.

Rather, we turned it into an opportunity to leap forward as a country

that 'no one can shake.'

Through win-win cooperation between large and small businesses,

we achieved 'independence in materials, parts, and equipment,'

and even attracted foreign investment in some items.

The COVID-19 crisis was also overcome by the trust and reliance

among the country, individuals, medical staff, and companies.

The government transparently disclosed all information necessary for quarantine,

and the people trusted the government's policies and became the main agents of quarantine themselves.

Companies developed the fastest and most accurate diagnostic reagents in the world,

and workers produced quarantine supplies thinking first of their neighbors.

The efforts of medical staff, volunteers, citizens, and companies combined

to become the strength to overcome COVID-19,

becoming a model recognized worldwide.

However, a higher level of tension is still continuously required.

The government will do its utmost until it can protect the people from the virus,

including securing vaccines and early development of treatments.

The success of quarantine achieved without closing borders or regions,

and without stopping the economy,

is leading to economic resilience.

Because of the success in quarantine,

the government's rapid economic measures through expansionary fiscal policy

have been effective.

Despite the global economic crisis, the Korean economy

is expected to rank first in growth rate among 37 OECD countries this year,

and to enter the world's top 10 in GDP size.

Despite much suffering,

our people are turning crises into opportunities,

and I cannot help but express my respect and gratitude once again.

Now, we are preparing for the post-COVID era

by confirming that the safety of 'neighbors' is the safety of 'oneself.'

We will vigorously implement the 'Korean New Deal,'

innovating and upgrading our economy with digital and green new deals as two wings.

From a follower economy to a leading economy,

from a carbon-dependent economy to a low-carbon economy,

we will fundamentally change the Republic of Korea and leap forward once again.

The spirit that runs through the core of the 'Korean New Deal' is, of course,

people-centered 'win-win.'

The 'Korean New Deal' is

a new social contract for 'win-win,'

strengthening the 'employment and social safety net' and increasing investment in 'people,'

promising to achieve prosperity and coexistence together.

Above all,

reducing gaps and inequality is important.

True liberation can only be said to be when everyone lives well together.

I believe the people will join us on the path of sustainable development

for both ourselves and future generations.

Citizens,

In the winter of 2016,

the squares and streets across the country were filled with

the spirit of Article 1 of the Constitution, 'All power in the Republic of Korea derives from the people.'

We engraved once again in history with candles

the fact that the power to change the world always lies with the people.

That spirit became the foundation of our government.

Today, on the 75th Liberation Day,

I reflect on whether liberation has truly been achieved for each individual,

thinking of a country that exists not for the individual to serve the nation,

but for the nation to guarantee the individual's dignified life.

That is

the era of Article 10 of the Constitution, where all citizens have dignity and value as human beings

and the right to pursue happiness.

It is the goal our government seeks to realize.

The government has so far

solidly laid the practical foundation of freedom and equality,

and through social safety nets and safe daily lives,

has strived to create a country where everyone can freely express their individuality and abilities,

and where the achievements of one person are respected together.

I do not think these are tasks that can be fully achieved within our government alone.

However,

we will give the people confidence that society is moving in that direction,

and do our best to establish a solid foundation.

We remember compatriots who emigrated as labor migrants to Hawaii and Mexico during the Korean Empire era,

who lost their homeland and could not return.

We must never forget that tearful history.

The homeland could not protect the compatriots,

but they rather gathered wages and collected 'a spoonful of rice each'

to support the independence movement funds of the provisional government,

becoming the roots of overseas independence movements.

We must remember until the end those compatriots

who could not return to the liberated homeland and their families.

We must ask whether the country has fulfilled its role to the people,

and whether it is doing so now.

The Republic of Korea will no longer give up on a single citizen.

We have grown that much and have that much confidence.

On April 30, 2018,

three of our seamen who were kidnapped in the Ghana waters

returned to the homeland with the Cheonghae Unit's Munmu the Great ship, which conducted the rescue operation.

In July 2018, a Korean citizen kidnapped by armed militants in Libya,

and in July 2020, five seamen kidnapped in the West African Benin waters

were safely rescued.

During the COVID-19 situation, military planes were urgently dispatched to Iraq

to bring home 293 Korean workers.

Special transport planes, military planes, and even the presidential aircraft were deployed

to safely transfer 2,000 overseas Koreans from seven countries severely affected by COVID-19,

and chartered flights brought home over 46,000 overseas Koreans from 119 countries safely.

Last year, the 100th anniversary of the March 1st Movement and the establishment of the provisional government,

it was also meaningful to bring the remains of five overseas independence patriots back to the homeland.

The state must respond to individuals' efforts to prove their dignity

and gather wisdom together on solutions.

In 2005, four victims of forced labor filed a lawsuit for damages

against Japanese companies responsible for forced labor,

and in 2018, the Supreme Court confirmed their victory.

The Supreme Court recognized the validity of the 1965 Korea-Japan Claims Agreement,

but ruled that individuals' 'claims for damages for illegal acts' have not expired.

The Supreme Court's ruling

has the highest legal authority and enforceability within the territory of the Republic of Korea.

The government respects the judiciary's ruling,

has consulted with the Japanese government on a smooth resolution acceptable to the victims,

and still keeps the door wide open for negotiations.

Our government is ready to sit down with the Japanese government at any time.

Three of those who filed the lawsuit together have already passed away,

and the elderly Mr. Lee Chun-sik, who remains alone,

said when Japan's export restrictions began last year,

"I wonder if Korea is suffering because of me."

We will confirm that protecting the dignity of an individual

is never a loss to the country.

At the same time, to uphold democracy based on the separation of powers,

universal human values, and principles of international law,

we will work together with Japan.

I believe that the joint efforts of Japan and Korea, respecting individual human rights,

will become a bridge of friendship and future cooperation between the peoples of both countries.

Citizens,

Dongdaemun Stadium is a place imbued with both the joy of liberation

and the pain of the division of the Korean Peninsula.

On December 19, 1945,

the 'National Welcome Rally for the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea' was held,

and on that day, Baekbeom Kim Gu appealed,

"Let the entire nation unite to build a new Korea of independence, equality, and happiness."

However, on July 5, 1949, with a million mourners gathered,

our people had to bid farewell to the teacher with tears here again.

Kim Gu's dream to complete the unfinished liberation caused by division

with a unified Korean Peninsula

became the task of all those left behind.

True liberation

is to guarantee the dreams and lives of each individual

in a peaceful and safe unified Korean Peninsula.

Our pursuit of peace and promotion of cooperation between the South and the North

are for the safety and well-being of the people of both sides.

We have responded to livestock epidemics and COVID-19,

experienced unprecedented heavy rains caused by weather anomalies,

and realized that individual health and safety

are closely connected to each other,

reconfirming that the South and the North are a community of life and safety.

Ensuring the life and safety of all people living on the Korean Peninsula

is the security and peace of our era.

Through quarantine cooperation and joint management of shared rivers,

we hope the people of the South and North will tangibly feel the benefits of peace.

Through joint research on healthcare, forestry cooperation, agricultural technology, and breed development,

we will cooperate more closely in the new security situation of the COVID era,

and open the way for coexistence and peace

to form a community of life along with a peace community and economic community.

Along with humanitarian cooperation for the life and safety of the people,

practical inter-Korean cooperation means cooperating so that people can meet those they want to meet before they die,

and visit places they want to visit.

Inter-Korean cooperation is the best security policy

for both the South and the North to break free from reliance on nuclear weapons or military power.

The stronger the cooperation between the South and the North,

the stronger the security of each side becomes,

and that will be the power to move toward prosperity

in cooperation with the international community.

As agreed in the Panmunjom Declaration,

we will permanently eliminate the threat of war

and lay the foundation for true liberation dreamed of by the ancestors.

The railway connection, for which the South and North have already conducted joint surveys and groundbreaking ceremonies,

is a key driver to expand future inter-Korean cooperation to the continent.

We will check and implement each item already agreed upon by the South and North,

and move toward a 'peaceful and jointly prosperous Korean Peninsula.'

Respected citizens,

independence patriots and their families,

overseas compatriots,

The belief that the nation will remember when one sacrifices for the country,

the belief that the nation will guarantee safety in the face of disasters,

the belief that the nation will rescue even when suffering in a foreign land,

the belief that the nation will look after individual difficulties,

the belief that opportunities to recover will be guaranteed even after failure.

With such beliefs,

individuals challenge new things and endure hardships.

When the nation responds to these beliefs,

liberation will dwell not only in the country but also in the individual.

In the colonial era,

the sweat and resentment of a marathon runner,

the joy of liberation and the sigh of division

are all layered in Dongdaemun Design Plaza,

where individual creativity and individuality are blooming today.

Beyond the path of the democratic republic started 100 years ago,

we will go with the people toward a Republic of Korea full of individual freedom and equality.

Beyond the country of independent sovereignty dreamed by the ancestors,

we will go with the people toward a peaceful and prosperous unified Korean Peninsula.

Thank you.