Former President Moon Attended All UN General Assemblies During His Term
Simultaneous North-South Membership on First Day of 1991 UN General Assembly Attended by Former President Roh Tae-woo
BTS and Lee Hee-ho Also Delivered Speeches at the UN
[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] President Yoon Suk-yeol's attendance at the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York on the 20th (local time) has sparked renewed discussions about the number of UN attendances by past presidents and the circumstances during their visits.
The former president who attended the UN General Assembly the most is former President Moon Jae-in. President Moon attended all five UN General Assemblies held during his term.
During President Moon's tenure, a mood of inter-Korean reconciliation was fostered with events such as the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, inter-Korean summits, and North Korea-US summits, with efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue being a major topic.
In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN General Assembly introduced its first-ever virtual meeting. The theme was "The Future We Want, the United Nations We Need: Reaffirming Our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism - Effective Multilateral Action on COVID-19." The keynote speeches were delivered through pre-recorded videos by heads of state from various countries.
The UN visit utilizing K-Culture also attracted global attention. BTS, who rose to global stardom by sweeping overseas famous charts, took the stage at the UN General Assembly speeches in 2018, 2020, and last year.
In particular, BTS attended the UN General Assembly held in September last year as "Special Presidential Envoys for Future Generations and Culture," accompanying former President Moon. At the 2nd High-Level Meeting on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG Moment), BTS delivered a 7-minute speech conveying messages about changes in daily life due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, the future of youth and young generations, and COVID-19 vaccination.
The first South Korean president to speak at the UN General Assembly was former President Roh Tae-woo. He took the podium at the UN General Assembly three times in 1988, 1991, and 1992.
South Korea was a non-member state of the UN during the 1988 UN General Assembly. At this event, former President Roh conveyed the significance of the July 7 Declaration, a special presidential declaration for national dignity and peaceful unification. He especially explained the achievements of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, which had concluded before the UN General Assembly, and expressed gratitude to the participating countries.
On the opening day of the 46th UN General Assembly in 1991, which was former President Roh's second attendance, South and North Korea joined the UN simultaneously. Previously, South Korea had applied for UN membership in 1949, 1955, 1956, 1958, and 1975, but these attempts were repeatedly vetoed by the Soviet Union. This event is regarded as a turning point leading to the February 19, 1992, Basic Agreement on Reconciliation, Non-aggression, and Exchanges and Cooperation between South and North Korea and the Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
However, other presidents did not attend the UN General Assembly during their terms as consistently as former Presidents Moon or Roh. Former President Kim Young-sam attended the 1995 UN 50th Anniversary Special Summit and the 1997 UN Environment Special Assembly, and former President Lee Myung-bak attended the 64th UN General Assembly in 2009 and the 66th in 2011. Former President Park Geun-hye attended the 69th UN General Assembly in 2014 and the 70th in 2015, attending the UN General Assembly twice.
Former President Lee Myung-bak, especially during the global financial crisis in 2009, visited the United States to attend his first UN General Assembly and participated in various summits related to global issues, including the Climate Change Summit and the 3rd Financial Summit.
In the case of former President Park, in 2015, various summits were planned, including the UN General Assembly, bilateral summits with Denmark and Pakistan, the UN Peacekeeping Operations Summit, the UN Development Summit, a high-level special event on the Saemaul Undong movement jointly organized by the South Korean government, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Global Education First Initiative (GEFI) high-level meeting keynote speech, and a major country leaders' luncheon on climate change.
Former President Kim Dae-jung attended only once, at the 2000 UN Millennium Summit, and former President Roh Moo-hyun attended once at the 2005 UN General Assembly Summit.
Former President Kim Dae-jung emphasized peace on the Korean Peninsula at the UN General Assembly following the inter-Korean summit in June 2000. At the 2002 UN Special Session on Children, it was not President Kim but First Lady Lee Hee-ho who attended as the representative of the chair country government, drawing attention by requesting international cooperation to improve children's rights.
Former President Roh Moo-hyun visited Mexico and Costa Rica before attending the UN General Assembly. In Mexico, he held a meeting with the Korean diaspora to commemorate 100 years of Korean migration, and in Costa Rica, he held a summit with then-President Pacheco, attended the Korea-Central America Integration System (SICA) meeting with eight Central American countries, and conducted bilateral talks with those eight countries.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
