Kim Dong-yeon Attends Eulji Exercise Situation Report: "The Power of Unity is True National Strength"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is attending the initial situation briefing of the Eulji Exercise on the 19th and saluting the national flag.

On the first day of the Eulji Exercise, Governor Kim Dong-yeon of Gyeonggi Province attended the initial situation briefing meeting on the 19th and urged, "The Eulji Exercise may be perceived as an annual event routinely held in the latter half of August every summer, but I ask you to dispel that notion and conduct it as if it were a real battle."

He added, "Gyeonggi Province holds 50% of South Korea's defense capabilities and 80% of the U.S. military forces," and questioned, "But does a country's strength and defense power come just from having a large number of troops and advanced weapons?"

He continued, "The government is rather escalating tensions in inter-Korean relations and, by even mentioning preemptive strikes and acting as if it would not hesitate to go to war, it has yet to identify the cause of the sacrifice of young soldiers in their twenties," and criticized, "Recently, appointments of military leadership, including the Minister of National Defense, have defied common sense for many people."

Furthermore, he said, "I believe that the fundamental strength of a country comes from proper democracy, the passion of leaders and government who strive to take care of the people's livelihood to the end, and efforts and sincerity to unify the people rather than divide them," adding, "It is not just superficial or visible appearances, but when the power of unity truly arises from within us, with wholehearted dedication to protect and develop the country, that is true national power."

In conclusion, Governor Kim stated, "The structural and fundamental issues I mentioned are challenges that our country's leaders and politicians like myself must solve," and urged once again, "Although there have been many regrettable and shameful incidents recently, considering the current escalation of tensions in inter-Korean relations, please do your best so that the sweat shed now can protect our people and nation."