Minister Jeon Hae-cheol of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety Attends the 11th Saemaeul Day Ceremony on the 22nd
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 21st that it will hold the ‘11th Saemaul Day’ commemorative event at the Saemaul Central Training Institute on the 22nd to celebrate Saemaul Day.
‘Saemaul Day’ was established in 2011 to commemorate April 22, 1970, the day the ‘Saemaul Undong (New Village Movement)’ was launched. It has been held annually, hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and organized by the Saemaul Undong Central Association.
This year’s ‘Saemaul Day’ commemorative event will be held under the theme ‘Saemaul Undong for a Community that Thrives Together.’ Attendees will include Minister Jeon Hae-cheol, Saemaul Undong Central Association Chairman Yeom Hong-cheol, National Assembly members Hwang Un-ha and Kim Yong-pan, and key foreign ambassadors such as Paredis Trapero, Ambassador of Honduras to Korea.
At the ceremony, awards will be presented to meritorious individuals who have contributed to the development of local communities through Saemaul Undong, including 10 Minister’s Commendations, 2 Saemaul Central Association Certificates of Appreciation, and 8 top awards for city/province and city/county/district evaluations. Additionally, the dedication of Saemaul leaders who devoted themselves to overcoming the COVID-19 crisis last year will be recognized.
Saemaul leaders in each region conducted 180,000 disinfection activities, produced and distributed 1.21 million masks, and engaged in devoted volunteer work involving over 400,000 participants last year. They successfully encouraged voluntary participation and cooperation among village residents, greatly contributing to the recovery and revitalization of village communities.
Yeom Hong-cheol, Chairman of the Saemaul Undong Central Association, is expected to express his determination, stating, "We will devote ourselves to solidarity and cooperation to overcome the climate crisis and life crisis, and to build a community that thrives together."
The Saemaul Undong Central Association and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety are currently promoting the formation of an Innovation TF team to establish Saemaul Undong as a regional innovation movement.
Minister Jeon Hae-cheol said, "The Global Saemaul Movement project (ODA), which has been promoted since 2009, and the Saemaul Undong Global League (SGL), which started in 2016, are creating a Saemaul Korean Wave worldwide as effective models for regional development." He added, "I hope that Saemaul Undong will become a new driving force for regional development in line with the Korean New Deal’s goal of transitioning to a carbon-neutral society."
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