ID :
201147
Sun, 08/14/2011 - 10:50
Auther :

Lee may call for national unity in Liberation Day speech

(ATTN: UPDATES with congratulatory message from Obama at bottom)
   SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak is expected to call for nationwide harmony and unity in his National Liberation Day speech to be delivered in a ceremony slated for Monday, a source in the presidential office said Sunday.
   Monday will mark the 66th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, as well as the 63rd founding anniversary of South Korea.
   Celebrating his fourth Aug. 15 Liberation Day while in office, Lee will likely call on the people to try to better understand each other and pay greater attention to the underprivileged, regardless of class, ideology or regional background, the source said.



   "The president stressed a fair society policy a year ago. This year's message represents an escalation of the fair society campaign," the source said.
   Lee will also urge nationwide efforts to reject populist politics in order to overcome the fresh global economic crisis triggered by fiscal balance problems in advanced countries across the world.
   With regard to diplomatic conflict with Japan and North Korea's denuclearization, Lee's messages this year are unlikely to go beyond his messages of the previous years, said the source.
   Diplomatic sources in Seoul also forecast that Lee will likely reiterate the principles for the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue in his Liberation Day speech, instead of unveiling new messages toward the communist North.
   The government of South Korea, formally called the Republic of Korea, was founded on Aug. 15, 1948, exactly three years after Korea's liberation.
   The two Koreas, divided shortly after the 1945 liberation, are still technically at war, with no peace treaty signed at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
   Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama sent a congratulatory telegram to Lee on the occasion of Korea's Liberation Day, presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha said.
   In the telegram, Obama said he is proud of the sustained partnership between the two countries.
   "Prior to last year's Liberation Day, the U.S. government issued a congratulatory statement. This year, Obama sent a 'Dear Mr. President' telegram, indicating an upgraded congratulation by the U.S. government," Park said, noting a Liberation Day telegram from a U.S. president is unprecedented.
(END)

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