{"id":2206175,"date":"2024-08-16T08:00:26","date_gmt":"2024-08-15T23:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2206175"},"modified":"2024-08-15T17:41:53","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T08:41:53","slug":"yoons-liberation-day-speech-sidesteps-japan-hints-at-unification-by-absorption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2024\/08\/yoons-liberation-day-speech-sidesteps-japan-hints-at-unification-by-absorption\/","title":{"rendered":"Yoon\u2019s Liberation Day speech sidesteps Japan, hints at unification by absorption"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol reiterated his <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.president.go.kr\/president\/speeches\/LA1AttyE\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">commitment to achieving full national unification<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> during his National Liberation Day address on Thursday, describing it as an unfinished task necessary for complete liberation. He outlined a three-pronged reunification strategy: battling \u201cdisinformation\u201d allegedly spread by \u201cpseudo-intellectuals\u201d that threaten freedom \u2014 a phrase he has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/yoon-suk-yeol-addresses-the-nation-in-national-liberation-day-speech\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">repeatedly<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> used to offer veiled criticism of the opposition, create conditions for North Koreans to desire unification and strengthen international solidarity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yoon also highlighted ongoing efforts to improve North Korean human rights, expand information access for North Korean residents and maintain open channels for inter-Korean dialogue. He proposed the establishment of a working-level dialogue body to address various issues, including economic cooperation and humanitarian concerns. Yoon stressed that unification is directly linked to global peace and the broader expansion of freedom and human rights.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>WHY IT MATTERS<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yoon\u2019s National Liberation Day address was marred by the unprecedented decision by independence fighter groups and opposition party lawmakers to hold a separate ceremony in protest over Yoon\u2019s decision to appoint <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.president.go.kr\/newsroom\/briefing\/L5gLt8U9\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kim Hyoung-suk<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as the president of the Independence Hall of Korea. The groups have accused Kim of holding pro-Japanese views and aligning with the \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/reframing-south-koreas-history-yoons-dance-with-the-new-right\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New Right<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">South Korean presidents typically deliver speeches about the history of Japanese occupation and the paths the country has taken to develop into a wealthy, sovereign nation. However, Yoon only briefly mentioned Japan in the context of South Korea\u2019s gross national income <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kedglobal.com\/economy\/newsView\/ked202406050018\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">surpassing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Japan\u2019s last year. While accurate, it was an oversimplification of economic realities, especially given Japan\u2019s recent <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2024\/07\/south-koreas-economic-optimism-masks-growing-risks-and-vulnerabilities\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">currency depreciation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, Yoon\u2019s vision for unification is rooted in the principle of \u201cfreedom\u201d \u2014 a word that he repeated more than 50 times \u2014 but he did not specify actionable plans or acknowledge the persistent resistance and challenges North Korea poses. This raises doubts about the feasibility or practicality of Yoon\u2019s unification strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-tags\"><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/domestic-politics\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Domestic Politics<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/inter-korean-foreign-relations\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Inter-Korean &amp; Foreign Relations<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol reiterated his commitment to achieving full national unification during his National Liberation Day address on Thursday, describing it as an unfinished task necessary for complete liberation. He outlined a three-pronged reunification strategy: battling \u201cdisinformation\u201d allegedly spread by \u201cpseudo-intellectuals\u201d that threaten freedom \u2014 a phrase he has repeatedly used to offer [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10407,"featured_media":2206176,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[27,28],"class_list":["post-2206175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-briefings","tag-domestic-politics","tag-inter-korean-foreign-relations"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Yoon\u2019s Liberation Day speech sidesteps Japan, hints at unification by absorption - KOREA PRO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2024\/08\/yoons-liberation-day-speech-sidesteps-japan-hints-at-unification-by-absorption\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Yoon\u2019s Liberation Day speech sidesteps Japan, hints at unification by absorption - KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol reiterated his commitment to achieving full national unification during his National Liberation Day address on Thursday, describing it as an unfinished task necessary for complete liberation. 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