'Youth Day' President Lee: "Young People Must Not Be Driven into Extreme Competition"

President Lee's Youth Day Address
"Youth issues are issues for all of us"
"Let us build a beautiful and vibrant nation where the vitality of youth shines brightly"

On September 20, President Lee Jaemyung emphasized, in celebration of Youth Day, that "we must take bold steps toward tangible solutions to youth issues and changes that young people can truly feel."

Yonhap News Agency

During a video address at the 6th Youth Day ceremony held at the Nokjiwon Garden of the Presidential Office, President Lee stated, "Youth issues are issues for all of us." He added, "The Framework Act on Youth, enacted in 2020, was a promise from our community to guarantee the rights of young people to live better lives, and it now serves as the compass for youth policy in South Korea."

President Lee noted, "We must expand the nest and grow the pie to create hope and opportunity." He continued, "Even if they fail or are eliminated, young people must have the chance to try again. Only in a country where youth are not driven into extreme competition can growth and innovation truly become possible."

He also remarked that if young people lose hope, South Korea will lose its dynamism. President Lee said, "If young people lose hope, adults lose their sense of ease, and the elderly become impoverished. The longer it takes for young people to enter society, the greater the burden on their parents' generation, and ultimately, even the dynamism of South Korea is threatened."

He stressed that protecting the lives of young people is the core vision of a government based on popular sovereignty. President Lee said, "The freedom for young people not to give up on their future and dreams, the freedom to change their lives through their own efforts, the freedom to stand independently as a member of society, and the freedom to confidently determine the future of the community-these are the core vision of a government based on popular sovereignty that protects the lives of young people and creates a better South Korea."

President Lee went on to say, "Because we have young people, we have hope. When your present shines, so too will South Korea. Let us work together to build a beautiful and vibrant nation where the vitality of youth shines brightly."