[Full Text] President Lee Jae Myung's "Address to the Nation after the Inauguration Oath"

President Lee Jae Myung stated, "Regardless of whom you supported in this presidential election, I will become a president for all, embracing and serving every citizen, in line with the deeper meaning of the presidency, which is to achieve great unity."

On June 4, at the Rotunda Hall of the National Assembly main building, President Lee made these remarks during the "Address to the Nation" following his inauguration oath. In his oath, President Lee used the word "citizen" 42 times and presented five key agendas: ▲a nation where the people are the true sovereigns ▲a country that grows and develops with renewed vigor ▲a society where everyone prospers together ▲a nation where culture flourishes ▲a safe and peaceful country.

President Lee Jae Myung delivers the "Address to the Nation" at the 21st Presidential Inauguration Ceremony held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on June 4, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyun Min

The following is the full text of the "Address to the Nation after the Presidential Inauguration Oath."

Dear and respected citizens, this is Lee Jae Myung, your 21st President of the Republic of Korea, as chosen by you.

I stand here today with a sense of boundless responsibility and profound gratitude.

Embracing the 52 million hopes and aspirations sent by our 52 million citizens, from today, as the 21st President of the Republic of Korea, I take my first step toward a truly democratic republic.

The future is beckoning us. It is time to revive livelihoods on the brink, restore growth, and create a tomorrow where everyone can be happy. It is time to restore security and peace, which have become tools for political strife; to rebuild livelihoods and the economy, which have collapsed due to indifference and irresponsibility; and to restore democracy, which has been destroyed by armored vehicles and automatic rifles. It is time to build bridges of coexistence, reconciliation, and solidarity over the hatred and confrontation that have divided us, and to open a new era of national happiness filled with dreams and hope.

As author Han Kang said, the past supports the present, and the dead have saved the living. Now, it is our turn to become the past for the future and save the generations to come. I promise you this: I will answer the solemn command to let hope blossom over deep and great wounds, and the earnest wish to build a completely new nation. In line with the deeper meaning of the presidency, which is to achieve great unity regardless of whom you supported in this presidential election, I will become a "president for all," embracing and serving every citizen.

The Republic of Korea is writing new history today. We are the only country to achieve both industrialization and democratization after liberation from colonial rule, boasting the world's 10th largest economy and the 5th strongest military, and leading global culture with K-culture. This proud nation of the East is now opening a new chapter in the history of democracy by using nothing but cheering sticks to suppress a military coup by the highest authority. The world is watching with awe the great journey of Korea and the remarkable capabilities of the Korean people. The revolution of many colors, K-democracy, has become a clear model for people around the world seeking new paths for democracy in crisis.

Beloved citizens, we now stand at a turning point of great transformation. The old order is receding, and a new order?a civilizational shift?is underway. We have entered an era of super-advanced technology and a new civilization, an age of infinite competition in artificial intelligence where the page turns in the blink of an eye. The climate crisis threatens humanity and pressures industrial transformation. The rapid changes in the international order, such as the expansion of protectionism and the restructuring of supply chains, threaten our survival.

If we do not fall behind but instead lead and stay ahead of these changes, we can enjoy unlimited opportunities. Unfortunately, at this critical moment, we are facing complex crises, layered like tangled threads, in every area: livelihoods, the economy, diplomacy, security, and democracy. Both the present and future of Korea are under threat.

Saving the weary lives of our people, restoring democracy and peace, recovering growth, and rebuilding our damaged national dignity will require unimaginable sweat, tears, and patience.

Yet, just like roses in June that bloom by seeking the sun even under shaded walls, our people have found a way forward amid chaos and despair. Guided by the will of our sovereign citizens, I will press on, crossing rugged mountains and pushing through thorns if necessary.

I will begin with restoring livelihoods and reviving the economy. With the determination to fight through the recession, I will immediately launch an emergency economic response task force. Using national finances as a pump primer, I will revive the virtuous cycle of the economy.

The newly inaugurated Democratic Party administration under Lee Jae Myung will be a government of just integration and pragmatic flexibility.

Integration is a sign of competence, while division is the result of incompetence. Only political forces that lack the ability and will to improve the lives of the people divide and sow hatred among citizens for the sake of maintaining power. I will be the president who ends divisive politics. I will overcome crises by making national unity our driving force. We will restore what was lost and destroyed by internal strife?livelihoods, the economy, security, peace, and democracy?and create a society of continuous growth and development.

Insurrections that use the arms entrusted by the people to deprive them of their sovereignty must never happen again. I will ensure thorough investigations, hold those responsible to account, and establish firm measures to prevent recurrence.

On the foundation of coexistence and integration, I will restore communication and dialogue, and revive politics of concession and compromise. Let us send outdated ideologies to the museum of history. From now on, there are no more issues of progressivism or conservatism. There are only the issues of the people and the Republic of Korea. Whether it is Park Chung Hee's policies or Kim Dae Jung's policies, if they are necessary and useful, I will use them without distinction.

The Lee Jae Myung administration will be a government of pragmatic market principles. Rather than controlling and managing, the government will support and encourage. To guarantee creative and proactive business activities, I will shift regulations to a negative-list system. I will provide robust support so that entrepreneurs can freely start businesses, grow, and compete in the global market.

I will never allow anyone to break the rules for personal gain, threaten the lives and safety of the people, violate the legitimate rights of workers, oppress the vulnerable unfairly, or undermine market order through unfair practices such as stock price manipulation. Those who profit by breaking the rules while those who keep them suffer will not be tolerated.

Innovation and new growth are only possible in a nation where the basic conditions of life for all citizens are guaranteed, and where a thick social safety mat allows for bold challenges. Both individuals and the nation must grow in order to share.

Through pragmatic, national-interest-centered diplomacy, I will turn the crisis of global economic and security transformation into an opportunity to maximize our national interest. Based on a strong Korea-U.S. alliance, I will strengthen Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation and approach relations with neighboring countries from the perspective of national interest and pragmatism. I will broaden the horizons of diplomacy, raise Korea's international standing, and expand our economic territory.

Respected citizens, the great revolution of light commands us not only to end insurrection but also to build a new, radiant nation. I will solemnly uphold the people's mandate for a new nation of hope.

First, I will create a nation where the people are the true sovereigns. The Republic of Korea is a democratic republic, and sovereignty belongs to the people. I will communicate with citizens anytime, anywhere, and create a true democratic republic where the people's sovereign will is reflected in state affairs on a daily basis. I will steadfastly pursue the major tasks of social reform gathered in the plaza of light.

Second, I will build a country that grows and develops with renewed vigor. Inequality of opportunity and resources is deepening, and the vicious cycle of disparity and polarization continues to hinder growth. As opportunities shrink due to low growth, only a war of survival remains instead of competition to live together. Young people, driven to extreme competition, are now fighting each other along gender lines. A society where failure in competition means death, combined with divisive politics, has produced extremism that threatens the very fabric of society. Creating new engines of growth and sharing both opportunities and outcomes of growth through fair growth will open the door to a better world. Just as the efforts of parents who educated their children by selling their fields and paddies despite poverty built today's Korea, the government will step forward to prepare for, support, and invest in the future. Through large-scale investment and support in advanced technology industries such as AI and semiconductors, we will leap forward as an industrial powerhouse leading the future. In line with the global trend of responding to the climate crisis, we will swiftly transition to a society centered on renewable energy. In addition to strengthening corporate competitiveness through energy import substitution and RE100 readiness, we will build a dense energy superhighway so that renewable energy can be produced anywhere in the country, thereby revitalizing regions at risk of extinction.

Third, I will create a society where everyone prospers together. Korea, once lacking in resources, achieved rapid growth to become the world's 10th largest economy through an unbalanced development strategy that concentrated investment in specific regions, companies, and classes. However, this strategy has now reached its limits, and polarization due to inequality is hindering growth. For sustainable growth, we must fundamentally transform our growth and development strategy. We must pursue balanced development, a fair growth strategy, and a fair society. We must move beyond concentration in the capital region, aim for balanced national development, create an industrial ecosystem where large, medium, small, and venture companies and startups cooperate organically, and transform into a fair society where privileged status and special favors disappear. Sharing the opportunities and fruits of growth equally is the path to sustainable growth. Growth and distribution are not contradictory but complementary; corporate development and respect for labor can fully coexist.

Fourth, I will build a nation where culture flourishes. "The one thing I want more than anything is the power of a high culture." The dream of Baekbeom Kim Gu is now becoming reality. From K-pop to K-dramas, K-movies, K-beauty, and K-food, Korean culture is captivating the world. Culture is the economy, and culture is international competitiveness. We must connect the global popularity of Korean culture to the development of the cultural industry and the creation of quality jobs. I will further grow Korea's cultural industry. Through active support for culture and the arts, we will rewrite the global standard for content and leap forward as a cultural powerhouse and one of the world's top five global soft power nations.

Fifth, I will create a safe and peaceful country. Safety and peace are the fundamental prerequisites for the happiness of our people. Safety is sustenance, and peace is the economy. We will thoroughly investigate the causes of social disasters such as the Sewol ferry disaster, the Itaewon tragedy, and the Osong underpass disaster, and build a safe society where the lives and property of the people are not threatened. We will heal the wounds of division and war and design a future of peace and prosperity. No matter how expensive, peace is better than war. It is better to win without fighting than to win by fighting, and peace that requires no fighting is the most certain security. While maintaining strong deterrence against North Korea's nuclear weapons and military provocations with a defense budget twice the size of North Korea's GDP, the world's 5th strongest military, and the Korea-U.S. military alliance, we will also open channels of communication with North Korea and build peace on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and cooperation. We will restore the honor of the military and public trust, which were damaged by illegal martial law, and ensure that the military is never again mobilized for politics.

Beloved and respected citizens, despite countless life-and-death crises, we have come this far by holding fast to our faith in the people and following the path you have led.

Now, I will pursue hope in accordance with the mission entrusted by the people. Our people have always been strong when united, and when the people come together, we have overcome any adversity. We established the Provisional Government of Korea through the March 1st Movement in defiance of Japanese oppression, and achieved industrialization that amazed the world amidst the pain of division and the ruins of war. We won democracy against harsh dictatorships and reclaimed popular sovereignty through two unprecedented, beautiful, bloodless revolutions.

With the great capabilities of our people, there is no crisis we cannot overcome. Korea will become a nation that leads the world with its powerful culture, drives change with advanced technology, and serves as a model of exemplary democracy for the world. When Korea takes action, it will set the global standard.

Respected citizens, both recovery and growth are ultimately for the happiness of the people, the true owners of this land. Let us build a true democratic republic where all the nation's capabilities are devoted entirely to the people. Let us move forward together toward a nation where the people are the sovereign, where the people are happy, and toward the real Korea, overcoming our small differences by recognizing and respecting each other.

By resisting insurrection carried out with state power and opening a world of hope with beautiful light, you, the citizens, are the protagonists of this historic journey.

As a loyal servant of the sovereign people of Korea, and as the representative entrusted with the lives of 52 million citizens and the future of the nation, I will faithfully fulfill the responsibilities given to the 21st President of the Republic of Korea. Thank you.