Presidential Office "Agreed to Co-Host the 2nd Democracy Summit with the US and Others"

Yoon Chairs Anti-Corruption Themed Indo-Pacific Regional Meeting

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] President Yoon Suk-yeol agreed on the 30th to co-host the 2nd Summit for Democracy with U.S. President Joe Biden and others.

The Presidential Office announced in a press release that afternoon that it had agreed to co-host the 2nd Summit for Democracy, scheduled for March 29-30, 2023, with the United States and others. In the Indo-Pacific region, South Korea; in Europe, the Netherlands; in Africa, Zambia; and in Latin America, Costa Rica were named as co-host countries.

The Biden administration held the 1st Summit for Democracy on December 9-10 last year under the slogan "America is back," to respond to the rise of authoritarianism and the decline of democracy.

At that time, over 110 heads of state, including South Korea, attended to discuss agendas on anti-corruption, de-authoritarianization, and human rights promotion.

On the first day of the 2nd Summit for Democracy, a plenary session (via video conference) chaired by the heads of the five co-host countries will be held, and on the second day, regional meetings led by each co-host country will take place.

South Korea will chair the Indo-Pacific regional meeting on the theme of anti-corruption, with participation not only from government ministers of various countries but also experts from academia and civil society.

The Presidential Office explained, "Through co-hosting the 2nd Summit for Democracy, we plan to share our democratization experience and anti-corruption efforts as a leading democracy in the region with the international community, and use this opportunity to continuously expand the horizon of value diplomacy."