Address by President Roh Moo-hyun on the 61st Anniversary of National Liberation
Sixty-one years ago today, we reclaimed our lost country. Everyone in the nation embraced one another with joy and enthusiasm. We committed ourselves to making a sovereign independent nation with commanding presence.
I pay tribute to the lofty spirit of our patriotic ancestors who gave everything for and dedicated themselves to the liberation of the homeland. I offer words of respect and gratitude to our patriots who contributed to the nation's independence as well as their bereaved families.
For the last century, our history is one of suffering and overcoming hardships. Even in dark and abysmal despair of having lost the country, our ancestors never stopped fighting for the nation's independence from the Japanese imperialists. The Korean people rose from the ashes of the Korean War and have turned the country's economy into one that is nearly the 10th largest in the world. Driving away the dictatorial regimes, Korea is opening an era of democracy brimming with liberty and vitality. The country is also upholding the legitimate history of the nation and newly establishing its sovereign standing by shedding a truthful light on the past.
I am profoundly grateful to all Koreans who have endeavored to make the Republic of Korea as it is today.
Fellow citizens,
Our records of taking on challenges and making achievements will continue in the future.
Although there remain some structural problems in regard to the welfare of ordinary people, the Korean economy will continue to grow through technological innovation and the nurturing of human resources based on a transparent and fair market system. Korea's cutting-edge scientific prowess, which would support its world-class manufacturing industries and lead an era of knowledge and information in the 21st century, is being further bolstered. We are also laying the foundation for balanced development where the Seoul metropolitan area and local provinces can grow together.
Authoritarianism is dismantled and we have entered an age when the people are respected as the true masters of their own lives. Demonstrating their self-discipline and creativity, our children are competing shoulder to shoulder with young people around the world in every field, including science, art and sports. The potential of the Republic and the Korean people is expanding to the international arena.
Nonetheless, our future will not be all roses. In our history, we have not been able to accomplish all that we should have.
Most importantly, overcoming the nation's division remains as an unfinished task. Despite the progress in inter-Korean relations, tensions and confrontation rise from time to time and many obstacles still hinder a road to national unification.
The confrontational order in Northeast Asia is also an unsettling factor affecting our future. Deep-rooted elements of conflict are still lingering even though the era of colonial rule has ended. The structure of conflict and confrontation has not been completely dismantled even though the Cold War era has ended. Regional instability, just like moving tectonic plates along a fault line, confronts us as a task that we should undertake and resolve.
The remnants of divisive history within our society are stumbling blocks holding back historic progress. National unity is still hindered by a sentiment of confrontation and conflict, which had been accumulated throughout the years of colonial rule, ideological contention between the leftists and rightists, and dictatorial regimes.
Fellow Koreans,
For the nation's safety, peace and future prosperity, we shall have to carefully manage the current situation on the one hand and overcome these challenges one by one on the other.
Most of all, we need to manage wisely the reality of national division. We should not destroy trust between the South and North by inciting antagonistic emotions. Human rights and public self-esteem are highly important in South-North relations. What is more important than anything else, however, is to administer the current situation at a manageable level, making peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula a top priority.
We should be thoroughly prepared with a reliable deterrent and, at the same time, try to persuade North Korea with tolerance and patience while encouraging them to take the road to peace and prosperity. The South and North together should turn the inter-Korean economic cooperation projects, including the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, into a robust bridge leading to peace and prosperity.
The deep-seated rage and rancor in our hearts should also be overcome now. It will not be easy to extend the hand of leniency and reconciliation to the North when we think of those who suffered from the war and abductions perpetrated by North Korea in the past. Nonetheless, for the sake of a peaceful and prosperous future for ourselves and our descendents, we should forgive what happened in bygone years with generous minds and far-sighted perspectives and proceed together to the road of cooperation and reconciliation.
North Korea should return to the Six-Party Talks without preconditions. We will spare no proactive efforts and assistance to help North Korea give up its nuclear program and, at the same time, improve its ties with the United States and other major nations, hence steering itself along the road toward peace and common prosperity.
The nations participating in the Six-Party Talks should try different forms of dialogue to help resume and develop the talks. The September 19 Joint Statement that was hammered out in the Six-Party Talks last year outlines a starting point for not only the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue but also the formation of a new order in Northeast Asia.
Once the Six-Party Talks are brought to a success, the United States will take a leading role in helping turn Northeast Asia into a community of peace and prosperity. This will also result in the expedited fulfillment of the values of democracy, market economy and human rights in the region.
Fellow citizens,
When we look over the horizon of our destiny, we need to proactively deal with another element of uncertainty, namely the potentially confrontational framework in Northeast Asia.
First, we should try to build a new order of integration in Northeast Asia. It is difficult to dissipate the confrontational structure as long as one side is pitted against another and each bloc mistrusts and restrains the other. All countries with a stake in the region should put their hearts into building an order of peace and coexistence, away from confrontation and conflict.
Our role in this regard is highly important. Attitudes of other countries may change depending on what attitude we take. We need to take a firm stand on our own. On many occasions, our history has been determined in accordance with the will of the major powers. Consequently, for a long time, we could not help seeking the opinion of the major powers first as we were trying to determine our own destiny.
However, this has got to change now. Our nation's strength and ties with the neighboring countries have changed from what they were in the past. While we should mesh the goals pursued with the reality of the international community, we need to think and come to decisions as Koreans. When the major powers discuss the future of Northeast Asia, we need to proactively persuade them to respect our right to self-determination with regard to the destiny of Koreans.
Second, we need to keep a vigilant eye on any international hegemonism that threatens regional peace and a cooperative order. It was the hegemonism of the major powers that shattered peace of Northeast Asia in the past. Each time, the Korean Peninsula was swept into the maelstrom of wars and the people had suffered. Labels such as the Russo-Japanese War and the Sino-Japanese War drop no hints that the major powers fought these wars on Korean soil. Unfortunately, the uncertainties of the past still continue to linger in Northeast Asia even in the present.
This is precisely the reason why we are concerned about discussions surrounding the amendment of Japan's Constitution. A long time has passed since the end of World War II and some may say that it is unwarranted to raise an issue with the amendment of the pacifist Constitution itself. Nevertheless, Japan has a few things to do before it amends the Constitution.
Japan should wholeheartedly reflect upon their actions in the past, act on their past apologies on several occasions, and prove in a clear manner that it has no intention of repeating them. Japan should take substantive actions to resolve the issues surrounding Dokdo, history textbooks, visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, and military sex slaves during World War II. Desirable examples can be found in the case of Germany that recognized the Oder-Neisse border and collaborated in recent years with its neighboring countries, including France and Poland, to jointly publish history textbooks.
Third, we need to be armed with the resolute will and ability to defend our own soil. To this end, the Participatory Government is pursuing national defense reform to enforce the capacity for self-defense. We are also pursuing to develop the Korea-U.S. cooperative relations for national security in a future-oriented direction, as seen in the redeployment of the United States Forces Korea.
The recovery of wartime operational control is tantamount to establishing the nation's sovereignty rightfully and remedying an abnormal state that stands at variance with the constitutional spirit concerning the authority to command troops. It is also a reflection of the changed stature of our armed forces. Over the past 20 years, we have prepared for this task and have proceeded with systematically in close coordination with the United States. It is being carried out on the firm foundation of Korea-U.S. alliance with active cooperation of the U.S. I fully trust the capacity of our armed forces.
A nation's defense capability is proportionate to its all-around national strength. We need to further develop the manufacturing sector and cutting-edge technologies while establishing the bedrock for sustainable growth through education and investments in the social infrastructure. By fostering the service industries and actively pursuing strategies for a nation of advanced trade, we should now take a leap toward the group of the more advanced countries.
Market opening is our survival strategy. So far, the Republic has achieved success through a high zeal for education, the spirit of challenge, and market opening. In the past, there was much opposition and concern every time we opened doors. However, it always proved to be another new opportunity for us.
The FTA negotiations with the United States present another challenge for us. A challenge always entails uncertainty. Without meeting a challenge head on, however, we cannot continue to open a better future. We have to upgrade the qualitative standard of competition another notch if we want to take the route to an advanced country.
The United States is the largest and best market in the world. So far, the Republic has followed Japan's growth model but we need to formulate a new success model to get beyond Japan while leaving fast-paced China behind. To this end, Korea should compete against the United States and win in its own market, particularly in the service sector. I have trust in the potential of the Korean people. We are the nation that has not ceased to create a legend.
Fellow citizens,
To achieve all these things, we should be able to bring together the people's opinions as one. Individual thinking may differ but the cause of the nation should be unified as one.
All along, we have been talking about unity and integration. In reality, however, we have only tried to impose our demands on others and have been reluctant to accept others' words or make a compromise. That is not all. There was a time when some of us excluded and even killed others because they had different beliefs. In those years, it could not be helped that there was no place for those who advocated dialogue and compromise. Such are the things of bygone years. Nonetheless, there still remains in our society and politics certain extremism of refusing any dialogue and compromise. Extremism renders national integration impossible.
The only way to bring together the people's opinions as one is to practice democracy properly. The core of democratic principles consists in relativism and tolerance. Another principle is respect for the rules. People are expected to reach a consensus through dialogue and compromise. Even when they cannot reach an agreement, they are expected to come to a conclusion according to the rules and comply with the outcome.
Looking back on our history, extremism and unwillingness to compromise did not allow different ideologies and consequently divided the nation, turning the country into a bed of misfortune. In the years ahead, we should strive to enable the principle of integration to lead the nation as a real force and to become a legitimate factor of history.
In the course of establishing a new government following the nation's liberation, those advocated for a unified nation on the principle of integration ended unsuccessfully. Nevertheless, the historic value of this principle of integration should not be discounted because they were unsuccessful. We have to reevaluate the efforts of those who strove to awaken the nation's potential for self-reliance and to prevent division.
At the same time, we have to exert our best effort to heal the wounds inflicted by the history of division and confrontation of bygone days and to prepare a new future of the country in which the nation and the people are unified as one. We should now get rid of the emotional knots stemming from conflicts and confrontation of the past. At a minimum, values of democracy and human rights should be recognized and those who have violated these values in the past should genuinely reflect on themselves and offer an apology. On the other hand, let us leave it to history making a judgment on controversies over legitimacy or qualifications, which are rooted in the quirks of history. In this way, let us accomplish a feat of genuine forgiveness and reconciliation and move forward together into a bright future.
Fellow Koreans,
Among those countries that achieved independence after World War II, Korea is the only one that has successfully implemented both democracy and a market economy. Our accomplishment serves as a model for the developing countries around the world.
Now is the time we should make an even bigger take-off. That is to build a country where all citizens are able to lead dynamic lives grounded in peace and stability, and where every youth is provided with a fair opportunity to work toward a bright future. An advanced Korea is indeed our dream.
The Korea-U.S. FTA negotiations would be a challenge aimed at bringing about an economically advanced nation. Eliminating the socio-economic divide and accomplishing growth is our vision for a Korea with economic security. Self-reliant national defense is a sign of our nation's determination and capability to firmly secure peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula on our own.
As we constantly implement innovation and creativity based on united national strength, the nation should be able to raise the per capita national income to US$20,00 by the year 2008 when the Participatory Government retires. Within 10 years, the country will actually be able to leap into the ranks of the advanced nations of the world.
A bright future is waiting for us. Let us charge ahead with hope and confidence. Let us do what we should do now without postponing it and with a sense of responsibility. The Government and I will do our parts to the best of our abilities.
Thank you.
웹사이트: http://www.president.go.kr
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2008년 8월 6일 17:22
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