Korea and the US to Hold 'Democracy Summit' for Two Days Starting from the 29th

The 2nd Summit for Democracy, jointly hosted by South Korea and the United States, will be held virtually over two days starting on the 29th. Government officials expect this meeting to serve as a platform to promote the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's foreign policy principle of 'value diplomacy' to the international community.

Robert Vichinsky, Senior Director of the White House National Security Council (NSC), revealed detailed plans for the summit during a foreign press briefing at the Washington DC Press Center on the 22nd (local time), stating, "We will announce new proposals to advance democracy and promote human rights during the meeting."

President Joe Biden, who attended the first Democracy Summit held in 2021, is holding a video conference with leaders from 110 countries at the White House. [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Vichinsky stated that the new detailed agenda includes additional support measures for the $400 million fund announced by U.S. President Joe Biden at the first summit. The fund is intended to support policies such as ▲ free and independent media, ▲ support for democracy and human rights activists, and ▲ the fight against corruption.

The opening ceremony on the 29th will feature congratulatory remarks from U.S. President Joe Biden, United Nations Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres, and the heads of state of the co-hosting countries, including President Yoon Seok-yeol. Besides South Korea, the co-hosting countries include Zambia, the Netherlands, and Costa Rica.

President Yoon will lead the session on economic growth on the first day of the summit. President Biden will preside over the session related to crises posed by global challenges.

In this regard, the Presidential Office announced on the 12th that President Yoon had received an invitation from President Biden to lead one of the sessions during the main summit for the Summit for Democracy.

In the invitation, President Biden said, "Thank you for helping to ensure the successful hosting of this summit," and added, "I look forward to continuing to work together with you to promote human dignity, unleash human potential, and achieve peace and prosperity for all of us."

The second day of the summit, expanded to ministerial level, will have South Korea leading the session on anti-corruption. From the U.S. side, participants will include Katherine Tai, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), among others.

Additionally, Taiwan will participate in this summit as it did in the first summit held in December 2021. At that time, China strongly opposed Taiwan's participation. Vichinsky said, "Taiwan will participate in the 2nd summit just as it did in the 1st," and added, "We expect diverse sector participation during the democracy summit."

The Summit for Democracy was first held in 2021 under the leadership of President Biden as a measure for the world to collectively check the rise of authoritarian states and respond to the decline of democracy. Essentially, it is a meeting that gathers allies and friendly countries sharing the same strategic values.

At the first summit, over 110 countries, including South Korea, were invited. However, as countering China and Russia became a priority of the summit, some countries with controversial records on issues such as human rights, including Pakistan, Iraq, and Hungary, were included, leading to criticism from some quarters.