Yoon Visits Atomic Bomb Museum with G7 Observer Country Leaders

Exhibition of Hiroshima Scenes Before and After Bombing and Victims' Personal Effects

President Yoon Suk-yeol visited the Peace Memorial Museum within the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on the final day of the Group of Seven (G7) summit on the 21st, along with leaders from observer countries. The Peace Memorial Museum documents the horrors of the atomic bombing.

Starting around 9 a.m., President Yoon, G7 observer country leaders, and representatives of international organizations toured the museum for about 30 minutes under the guidance of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, then moved to the Atomic Bomb Memorial Cenotaph in the Peace Memorial Park to lay wreaths.

They then received explanations about the cenotaph and the "Genbaku Dome" from Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Genbaku Dome was constructed in 1915 and served as the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall before being partially destroyed by the atomic bomb dropped on August 6, 1945. It is a war relic and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

Earlier, G7 member country leaders also toured the museum for about 40 minutes with Prime Minister Kishida on the opening day of the summit, the 19th.

Earlier that day, at around 7:35 a.m., President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida jointly paid respects at the memorial for Korean atomic bomb victims located in the Peace Memorial Park. This marked the first time the Korean and Japanese leaders jointly visited the memorial for Korean atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima.