[Full Text] President Yoon's Liberation Day Speech... Presents Three Major Unification Strategies

"Complete Liberation Achieved Only When a Free Democratic Unification State Is Established"
'Freedom Values, Change in North Korean Residents, International Solidarity' Unification Strategy
Proposal to Establish South-North Dialogue Consultative Body... "Discuss Any Issues"

President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers a congratulatory speech and announces the '8.15 Unification Doctrine' at the 79th Liberation Day Celebration held at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 15th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol attended the 79th Liberation Day celebration held at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul on the morning of the 15th and stated, "As long as the division system continues, our liberation will inevitably remain incomplete," adding, "Only on the day when a free and democratic unified state, where the people are the masters, is established throughout the Korean Peninsula will complete liberation be realized."

On that day, President Yoon presented three major unification strategies centered on 'values of freedom, changes in North Korean residents, and solidarity with the international community.' He introduced, "First, our people must firmly hold the values and capabilities to pursue free unification; second, we must create changes so that North Korean residents earnestly desire free unification; and third, we must unite with the international community."

He also proposed the establishment of a 'dialogue consultative body' at the working-level between the South and North authorities. President Yoon explained, "This body can address any issues, including tension reduction, economic cooperation, human exchanges, cultural exchanges, and responses to disasters and climate change," adding, "Humanitarian issues such as separated families, prisoners of war, abductees, and detainees can also be discussed."

The following is the full text of President Yoon’s 79th Liberation Day commemorative speech

President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee are watching a performance at the 79th Liberation Day Celebration held at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 15th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Respected citizens, 7 million overseas Koreans, and 26 million North Korean compatriots, today we mark the 79th anniversary of Liberation Day.

I pay tribute to the patriotic martyrs and independence activists who dedicated themselves to the independence of our homeland. I also deeply thank their bereaved families. Since the loss of our national sovereignty until today, our people have truly written a great history. The value that runs through this great journey is freedom. Our liberation was the fruit of the struggle for freedom. Even in the bleak situation of losing national sovereignty, our people did not give up.

Through the March 1st Movement in 1919, we confirmed the unified aspiration of the people to create a free country where the people are the masters. With this aspiration, we established the Shanghai Provisional Government and carried out various independence movements at home and abroad. Internally, we continuously strived to strengthen ourselves through education and culture, and externally, we never ceased diplomatic and military independence movements. Even after liberation in 1945, the struggle for freedom continued. In 1948, we enacted a free democratic constitution and established the government of the Republic of Korea on this land. The constitutional spirit of liberal democracy and market economy, which we have upheld since the founding, has become the foundation of the wealth and prosperity we enjoy.

When the Korean War broke out due to North Korea’s invasion, we fought alongside free democratic countries, shedding blood to protect our freedom. By upholding and developing the value of freedom and working hard together, we achieved industrialization, the Miracle on the Han River, and democratization. Now, the Republic of Korea has leapt beyond dazzling economic growth to become a global pivotal nation and a global cultural powerhouse. Neither imperialist powers’ infringement of sovereignty, division, nor war could stop our vigorous advance toward freedom.

However, complete liberation remains an unfinished task for us. Before us lies a crucial historical task that must be resolved: unification. In 1919, our people began efforts to establish a free democratic state on the Korean Peninsula where the people are the masters. Although liberation came with the defeat of Japanese imperialism in 1945, as long as the division system persists, our liberation will inevitably remain incomplete.

The kingdom of frozen land deprived of freedom, the northern land suffering from poverty and hunger?our freedom must be extended there. Only on the day when a free democratic unified state, where the people are the masters, is established throughout the Korean Peninsula will complete liberation be realized. Today, based on the constitutional duty of the president to pursue liberal democratic peaceful unification, I declare our vision and strategy for unification to our people, North Korean residents, and the international community.

Citizens, the future of the unified Republic of Korea we dream of is clear. It is a happy country where the freedom and safety of the people are guaranteed; a strong and prosperous country advancing through creativity and innovation; a country leading harmony and development in the international community and contributing to world peace and prosperity. This is the future of the unified Republic of Korea. Today, I would like to present the tasks we must undertake to move toward this unified Korea.

First, our people must firmly hold the values and capabilities to pursue free unification; second, we must create changes so that North Korean residents earnestly desire free unification; and third, we must unite with the international community.

First, we ourselves must strengthen our conviction in the value of freedom. Only by firmly protecting the freedom within us can we become the driving force leading liberal democratic unification. For all of us to become free people and for our freedoms to coexist, responsibility, consideration, order, and norms must be prerequisites. We must not confuse libertinism and irresponsibility that disregard order and norms with freedom. We must especially not be swayed by false agitation and pseudo-logic aimed at destroying free society.

False agitation and pseudo-logic based on so-called fake news are terrifying weapons that disrupt free society. Fake news has now become a large-scale industry. Pseudo-intellectuals package fake news as products and distribute them, forming vested interest groups. These pseudo-intellectuals and agitators fail to present the values and visions we truly aspire to. They cannot present them.

Their strategy is to deceive the people and destroy the values and order of free society because if they reveal their true goals, their false agitation will not be effective. They only obsess over dividing the people through agitation and fabrication and profiting from the gaps. These are the anti-freedom and anti-unification forces blocking our future.

As the digital cyber industry advances and the knowledge industry grows exponentially, to protect the value system of freedom against these malicious agitators, our people must be armed with the power of truth and fight back. Freedom is won through struggle. It is never obtained automatically. I and the government will do our utmost to protect the value of freedom in our society.

Under a market economy led by the private sector, we will do our best to create many quality jobs by allowing companies to thrive so that citizens can enjoy more opportunities for employment and economic activities. We will accelerate educational reform, labor reform, pension reform, and medical reform to make our society fairer and healthier. We will expand tailored welfare for the vulnerable and take warmer care of the lives of all citizens to protect and expand everyone’s freedom.

Through this, we will deepen the roots of freedom’s value in our society and protect our people from false agitation by dark forces. Only when our people are strongly armed with the value of freedom and a sense of responsibility can we lead free unification on the Korean Peninsula. Especially, we will provide a future-oriented 'advanced field-oriented unification education program' so that youth and future generations can have expectations and dreams of free unification. We will also enable them to experience the opportunities and changes brought by unification in virtual spaces in advance.

Second, we must care for and bring about changes so that North Korean residents strongly desire free unification. We must actively extend the value of freedom to the North and bring about substantial changes in North Korea. Above all, we will make multidimensional efforts to improve North Korean human rights substantially. We must accurately inform our people and the international community of the harsh realities of North Korean human rights. The reason we published the for the first time since our government took office is precisely this. We will make it more thorough and widely disseminate it worldwide.

In cooperation with domestic and international NGOs, allied countries, and international organizations, we will further publicize North Korea’s human rights abuses and continuously urge improvements. We will promote the to expand the discourse on North Korean human rights comprehensively. We will establish the to actively support private activities promoting freedom and human rights for North Korean residents. We will continue humanitarian aid to guarantee the survival rights of North Korean residents. Our proposal on August 1 to provide relief supplies to North Korean flood victims was a declaration that we will never ignore the suffering of North Korean residents. Although the North Korean regime rejected it again, we will not give up humanitarian aid. We will actively pursue humanitarian support, including food and healthcare, for vulnerable groups in North Korea such as infants, women, the elderly, and the disabled.

It is very important to awaken North Korean residents to the value of freedom. Many North Korean defectors say they realized the false propaganda of the North Korean regime through our radio broadcasts and TV. If more North Korean residents realize that free unification is the only way to improve their lives and believe that the unified Republic of Korea will embrace them, they will become strong allies of free unification. Especially, we must instill the dream and hope of free unification in North Korea’s future generations. We will expand the 'right to access information' so that North Korean residents can access diverse external information through various channels.

It is also very important to warmly embrace the North Korean defectors, the 'unification that arrived first.' On July 14, was established, and the first commemorative ceremony was held. This was a firm declaration of our government’s commitment to protect and support defectors. The government will properly protect North Korean defectors and add their roles to unification capabilities. We will actively reflect the experiences and knowledge of defectors who have experienced both South and North Korea in the formulation and implementation of unification policies, making them valuable assets for opening the future of the unified Republic of Korea.

Along with these efforts, we will keep the door to inter-Korean dialogue wide open. Inter-Korean dialogue should not be a showy political event but a practical venue to discuss peace guarantees and improvements in the lives of our people and North Korean residents. Today, I propose the establishment of a at the working level between the South and North authorities. This body will address any issues, including tension reduction, economic cooperation, human exchanges, cultural exchanges, and responses to disasters and climate change. Humanitarian issues such as separated families, prisoners of war, abductees, and detainees can also be discussed.

Meanwhile, as already stated in the 'Bold Initiative' on Liberation Day two years ago, if North Korea takes even the first step toward denuclearization, we will immediately start political and economic cooperation. Through dialogue and cooperation, we urge the North Korean authorities to respond so that substantial progress in inter-Korean relations can be achieved.

Lastly, solidarity with the international community. Just as our division was a product of international politics, unification is not easy to achieve alone. Our unification is a task to expand the universal values of freedom and human rights and is directly linked to world peace and human prosperity. We must widely spread the belief that the unified Republic of Korea will be a country contributing to world peace and prosperity. We must make responsible contributions to the international community and promote our unification policy together with the international community.

In my keynote speech at last year’s UN General Assembly, I declared that the Republic of Korea would take a leading role and contribute to closing the development gap, climate gap, and digital gap between countries. Since our government took office, we have boldly more than doubled the ODA budget. We launched the led by our country to lead international normative discussions on climate issues. We are also taking the lead in establishing new digital norms in the international community by hosting the AI Seoul Summit.

Based on these contributions and roles, we will make greater efforts to garner international support for free unification. To this end, we will establish the together with like-minded countries. While strengthening solidarity of freedom with allies and friendly countries, we will strive to build consensus on our unification.

Citizens and North Korean compatriots! In the unified Republic of Korea, we will enjoy greater freedom and opportunities. Furthermore, it will be a message of blessing to all human society. I and the government will make 2024 a new inaugural year toward the 'unified Republic of Korea of freedom, peace, and prosperity.'

Respected citizens, the journey of challenges and achievements that the Republic of Korea has walked has become a shining record in modern human history and has given great resonance. On August 1, the World Bank referred to the Republic of Korea as a 'growth superstar' in a report on the 'middle-income trap,' evaluating Korea’s growth history as a 'must-read for all middle-income countries.' This report mentions 'Korea' as many as 100 times and details our secrets to success, from 'investment' to 'technology adoption' and 'innovation.'

Last year, our per capita income surpassed Japan for the first time, and we are looking toward $40,000 in 2026. The export gap between Korea and Japan in the first half of this year recorded the lowest ever at $3.5 billion. As confirmed by the brilliant 8th place at the Paris Olympics, our youth are fearlessly challenging and vigorously leaping into the future. Countries around the world are trying to follow the path Korea has taken. However, we cannot be satisfied with this.

To move toward a unified Republic of Korea, we must become stronger. We must achieve greater historical progress by confronting internal and external challenges threatening our freedom. Respected citizens, let us continue to walk together! Let us hold hands more firmly and move forward vigorously toward a greater Korea, a unified Korea! Thank you.