[Unofficial Translation] 

My fellow citizens, our 7 million compatriots overseas and our 26 million fellow North Koreans,

Today, we mark the 79th Liberation Day.

We pay tribute to our fallen forebears and patriots who dedicated their lives to our country’s independence and express our deepest gratitude to their bereaved families.

From the day our sovereignty was wrested away from us up to the present, our people have written truly great chapters in history.

And the fundamental value that runs through this great journey is freedom. The fruit of our struggle for freedom was our liberation.

Even in the bleakest of times, when our sovereignty was lost, our people did not give up.

The March First Independence Movement confirmed our shared aspiration to build a free nation rightfully owned by the people.

With this yearning as a catalyst, we founded the Provisional Republic of Korea Government in Shanghai and carried out various independence movements at home and abroad.

On the home front, we worked tirelessly to gain power through education and culture. On foreign soil, we never ceased efforts to regain our independence through diplomacy and armed resistance. Even after liberation in 1945, our struggle for freedom continued.

In 1948, we enacted a free and democratic constitution and established the government of the Republic of Korea on this land.

The constitutional spirit of freedom, democracy and a market economy which has been upheld since the enactment of the Constitution, has served as a foundation for the abundance and prosperity we now relish.

When the Korean War broke out with North Korea’s invasion of the South, we fought and spilled blood, alongside liberal democracies, in defense of freedom.

Our collective hard work to safeguard and advance the value of freedom resulted in our achievement of industrialization, the Miracle on the Han River and democratization.

Now, beyond having accomplished remarkable economic growth, the Republic of Korea has emerged as a global pivotal state and a global cultural powerhouse.

Nothing could stop our vigorous strides toward freedom, be it the imperialists’ plundering of our sovereignty, the division of our nation, or war.

However, complete liberation remains an unfinished task for us.

Lying ahead is a crucial historic challenge that must be addressed: unification.

In 1919, we, the people of Korea, began the struggle to build a free and democratic country which truly belongs to us on our Peninsula. The fall of Imperial Japan in 1945 brought us liberation, but as long as the state of division persists, our liberation will remain incomplete.

The freedom we enjoy must be extended to the frozen kingdom of the North, where people are deprived of freedom and suffer from poverty and starvation.

Only when a unified free and democratic nation rightfully owned by the people is established across the entire Korean Peninsula will we finally have complete liberation.

Today – in line with my presidential responsibility to seek peaceful unification based on freedom and democracy as mandated in the Constitution – I declare our unification vision and strategy to our citizens, the people of North Korea and the international community.

My fellow Koreans,

The future of the unified Korea that we envision is clear.

A country full of happiness where people’s freedom and safety are guaranteed; a strong and prosperous country soaring through creativity and innovation; a country that contributes to global peace and prosperity while spearheading international harmony and development – this is the future of a unified Korea.

Today, I would like to spell out our tasks for moving toward a unified Korea.

We have three key undertakings: First, we have to ensure that our people firmly possess the values and capabilities needed to pursue unification based on freedom; second, we need to change the minds of the North Korean people to make them ardently desire a unification based on freedom; and third, we have to stand in solidarity with the international community.

More than anything else, we ourselves need to believe more strongly in the value of freedom.

Only by firmly defending our freedom can we become the leading force driving free and democratic unification.

For all of us to live as free individuals and coexist in freedom, the prerequisites are a sense of responsibility, consideration for others, order and norms.

A self-indulgent and irresponsible disregard for order and norms must not be confused with freedom.

Even more importantly, we must not be swayed by false propaganda and pseudo-logic intended to undermine free societies.

False propaganda based on so-called “fake news” and pseudo-logic are terrifying lethal weapons that are being used to disrupt free societies.

Generating fake news has now become a large-scale industry.

Pseudo-intellectuals package and circulate fake news as a commodity and became vested interest groups themselves. These pseudo-intellectuals and demagogues have failed to present the proper values and vision to which we should truly aspire.

They simply cannot.

Their strategy is to destroy the values and order of a free society by deluding people; they resort to this strategy because their false propaganda would fail to work as intended if their real goals were exposed.

They are only bent on dividing people through instigation and fabrication and reaping rewards from the division they sow.

They are the anti-freedom, anti-unification forces that are blocking our march forward.

As the knowledge industry grows exponentially through advances in the digital and cyber industry, dark forces of instigation are attempting to exploit it. In order to safeguard our freedom-based value system against these forces, our people must be armed with the power of truth and fight back.

Freedom must be secured through struggle; it never comes about as a matter of course.

The government and I will do everything possible to defend the value of freedom in our society.

We will do all we can to ensure that businesses can perform at their fullest potential under private sector-led market principles and create many quality jobs – so that our people can enjoy more employment opportunities and chances to engage in economic activities.

We will further accelerate the education, labor, pension and healthcare reforms needed to make our society fairer and more sound.

We will expand welfare programs that are tailored to provide intensive support to those in need and attend to their lives more compassionately, thereby protecting and expanding freedom for all of our people.

In this way, we will ensure that the value of freedom grows deeper roots within our society and that our people are protected from false instigation spread by dark forces.

Only when our people are strongly armed with the value of freedom and a sense of responsibility can we take the lead in pushing for a unification based on freedom of the Korean Peninsula.

Notably, we will provide a forward-looking “cutting-edge, on-site education program on unification” so that our young people and future generations can anticipate and dream of such a unification based on freedom.

We will make it possible for them to experience in advance the opportunities and changes to be brought about by unification – within a virtual space.

Second, we must undertake the task of bringing about changes and helping the people of North Korea with deep compassion so that they have a strong desire for unification based on freedom.

We must be more proactive when expanding the value of freedom to the North and induce substantive changes. Above all, we will take a multifaceted approach to substantially improve human rights in North Korea.

We must accurately inform our own citizens and the international community of the truth about the tragic human rights situation in North Korea.

That is why our government published an annual “Report on North Korean Human Rights” for the first time since I took office.

Going forward, we will go into greater detail and share the report more widely with the world.

In cooperation with NGOs at home and abroad, friendly countries and international organizations, we will make North Korea’s human rights abuses more widely known and continue to urge relevant improvements.

We will push for an International Conference on North Korea’s Human Rights and expand the discourse on North Korean human rights in all directions.

We will establish a North Korea Freedom and Human Rights Fund to actively support nongovernmental activities that promote freedom and human rights there.

We will also continue to provide humanitarian aid to help guarantee North Koreans’ right to life.

On August 1, we offered relief supplies for flood victims in North Korea, making clear that our government has no intention of turning a blind eye to the North Korean people’s suffering.

Even though the North Korean regime rejected our offer yet again, we will never stop making offers of humanitarian aid.

We will actively push humanitarian aid, including food and healthcare, for vulnerable segments of North Korea’s population, including infants, women, the elderly and people with disabilities.

It is also important to help awaken the people of North Korea to the value of freedom.

Testimonials from numerous North Korean defectors show that our radio and TV broadcasts helped make them aware of the false propaganda and instigations emanating from the North Korean regime.

If more North Koreans come to recognize that unification through freedom is the only way to improve their lives and are convinced that a unified Korea will embrace them, they will become strong, friendly forces for a unification based on freedom. In particular, we need to instill in North Korea’s future generations the dream and hope of a unification through freedom.

We will expand the “right of access to information” so that North Koreans will be able to use various channels to secure a variety of outside information.

It is also important to warmly embrace the North Korean defectors; they can be likened to “the first buds of unification.”

The government held an inaugural ceremony on July 14 after designating it as North Korean Defectors’ Day.

This demonstrated the government’s unwavering commitment to protecting and supporting North Korean defectors.

The government will make sure that North Korean defectors are properly protected and invited to play a role in enhancing our ability to achieve unification.

North Korean defectors have experienced life in both Koreas. We will actively reflect their know-how and knowledge when establishing and implementing unification policies. We will ensure that they will serve as valuable assets in ushering in the future of a unified Korea.

In tandem with these efforts, we will keep the door to inter-Korean dialogue wide open.

Inter-Korean dialogue should not be merely a political spectacle but rather serve as a substantive opportunity to discuss, for instance, a guarantee of peace for our people and North Korea’s and ways to improve their lives.

Today, I propose that authorities from both Koreas establish "Inter-Korean Working Group."

This body could take up any issue ranging from relieving tensions to economic cooperation, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and disaster and climate-change responses.

We will also be able to discuss pending humanitarian issues such as families separated by the Korean War and South Korean prisoners of war, abductees and detainees still kept in the North.

As clarified in the “Audacious Initiative” that I unveiled on Liberation Day two years ago, we will begin political and economic cooperation the moment North Korea takes just one step toward denuclearization.

Dialogue and cooperation can bring about substantive progress in inter-Korean relations. I urge North Korean authorities to respond to our proposal.

Finally, we need to stand in solidarity with the international community.

Just as our division was the result of international politics, it will be difficult to achieve unification on our own.

Our unification is a significant undertaking to spread the universal values of freedom and human rights and has a direct bearing on world peace and the prosperity of humanity.

We must make sure that the international community is convinced that a unified Korea will be a country that contributes to peace and prosperity around the world.

We must contribute to the international community responsibly and cooperate with it as we push ahead with unification policies.

In my keynote speech at the United Nations General Assembly last year, I announced that Korea will play a leading role in and contribute to narrowing the development, climate and digital divides that exist between countries.

Since my inauguration, we have boldly increased our Official Development Assistance budget by more than twofold.

Korea has been at the forefront of discussing international norms on climate change issues, having taken the initiative in launching the Carbon-Free Alliance. We are also taking the lead in establishing new digital norms within the international community, for instance, by cohosting the AI Seoul Summit.

By building upon these contributions and roles, we will work harder to garner the international community’s support for unification based on freedom. To this end, we will create the International Korean Peninsula Forum together with like-minded countries.

We will strive to build a consensus on our unification while strengthening the solidarity of freedom with our ally and friendly countries.

My fellow South Korean citizens and fellow North Koreans!

In a unified Korea, we will enjoy more freedom and a greater range of opportunities. Furthermore, achieving this will bestow a blessing upon the whole of humanity.

The government and I will make 2024 the first year of advancing toward a “unified Korea Based on Freedom, Peace, and Prosperity.”

My fellow Koreans,

The Republic of Korea’s journey of taking on challenges and gaining achievements has established a shining record in modern human history and has resonated widely.

In its August 1 report “The Middle-Income Trap,” the World Bank referred to the Republic of Korea as a “growth superstar” and it noted that the history of our growth is “required reading for policymakers in any middle-income country.”

This report mentioned Korea as many as 100 times and introduced in detail the secrets of our success: “investment, technology infusion and innovation.”

Last year, Korea’s per capita income surpassed Japan’s for the first time and is expected to reach US$40,000 by 2026.

In the first half of this year, the export gap between Korea and Japan hit a historic low of US$3.5 billion.

As confirmed by Korea’s outstanding achievement of placing eighth in the Paris 2024 Olympics medal count, our young people are not afraid to take on challenges and are energetically moving forward toward the future.

Countries around the world are trying to follow in the footsteps of the Republic of Korea. However, we cannot afford to be content with this.

We must become stronger in order to move toward a unified Korea.

We must achieve greater historical progress by facing up to the internal and external challenges that threaten our freedom.

My fellow Koreans,

Let us continue marching onward!

Let us join hands and vigorously advance toward a greater Republic of Korea, a unified Korea!

Thank you.