"Baseball is closely related to freedom"... Yoon encourages North Korean defector youth baseball team before US departure

Yoon: "Freedom and Baseball Rules Emphasized, Sharing the Same Goal"

President Yoon Suk-yeol is taking a commemorative photo with a choir of South Korean youth and North Korean defector youth at the '1st North Korean Defectors Day Ceremony' held at the Blue House Reception Hall on the 14th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol attended the send-off ceremony in the United States for the North Korean defector youth baseball team, the 'Challengers,' on the 14th, cheering and encouraging the freedom and challenges of North Korean defector youth.

According to Kim Soo-kyung, spokesperson for the Presidential Office, President Yoon attended the Challengers' send-off ceremony following the '1st North Korean Defector Day Commemoration Ceremony' held at the Blue House State Guest House that morning.

The Challengers, founded in 2018 as the first North Korean defector youth baseball team in South Korea, plan to visit the United States from the 18th to the 29th to play friendly games with local youth baseball teams and watch Major League Baseball games in New York and Washington. The send-off ceremony was held under the slogan "Home Run for Freedom."

President Yoon approached each player present that day, asked about their positions, encouraged them with handshakes, and then took the stage to say, "I sincerely congratulate the Challengers baseball team, made up of North Korean defector youth, on their send-off to the United States."

President Yoon emphasized, "Baseball is closely related to freedom," adding, "Freedom is about working hard and following rules, and baseball shares this goal as players diligently engage in the game and value the rules."

He also said, "I think the name 'Challengers' is very meaningful," and expressed his hope that the Challengers baseball team will become a team that can sustain and develop over the long term.

President Yoon left a handwritten signature along with an encouraging phrase, "Home Run for Freedom," on a large baseball and handed it to the team representative.

About 70 people, including players, coaches, and families of the North Korean defector youth baseball team, attended the send-off ceremony. From the government and the Presidential Office, Minister of Unification Kim Young-ho, National Security Office Director Jang Ho-jin, and First Deputy Director of Security Kim Tae-hyo were present.