Yoon: "The Separated Families Issue is the Most Urgent Task... Prioritize What Can Be Done First"

President Yoon Suk-yeol said on the 15th, "The issue of separated families is the most urgent task we must resolve," adding, "Although the North Korean authorities are refusing even humanitarian exchanges, we are finding what we can do and taking the initiative to move forward."

On the afternoon of the 12th, attendees are viewing the exhibition at the opening ceremony of the 2nd Isan Family Day commemorative exhibition "Faint Memories, Deep Longing" held at the Seoul Museum of History in Jongno-gu, Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

At the 2nd Separated Families Day ceremony held at the KBS Art Hall, President Yoon conveyed a commemorative message read by Minister of Unification Kim Young-ho, stating, "Among the approximately 130,000 people who have applied to find their separated families, about 3,000 pass away each year without meeting their lost relatives."

He went on to say that the survey on separated families conducted last year in North America is being expanded worldwide this year, and added, "We will continue to urge the international community's attention to the issue of separated families on international platforms including the United Nations, while strengthening the foundation for cooperation."

Separated Families Day is designated to comfort the pain of separation and to spread public consensus for resolving the issue of separated families. According to the Separated Families Act, which came into effect in March last year, the day is commemorated annually on the day before the second day of Chuseok.