President Park Geun-hye said she will make every effort so that in 30 years the Korean people will be able to celebrate the 100th anniversary of liberation as a unified country, standing tall as an economic powerhouse.

The president was speaking at a ceremony to mark the 96th anniversary of the March First Independence Movement at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Seoul on March 1. President Park said, "The determination to achieve liberty and the ideal of world peace shown in the March First Independence Movement led to the establishment of the Provisional Government. Its legitimacy has carried on in the spirit of the Korean constitution. The spirit of the March First Independence Movement, which helped achieve a great unity among all Koreans, served as a catalyst for our history of miracles: the accomplishment of democracy and economic prosperity at the same time, in just half a century, in spite of post-war ruin and poverty."

"We enjoy freedom and prosperity today thanks to the dedicated efforts of the people who came before us, who rose above countless adversities to accomplish great things," said the president. "As such, the responsibility falls on us to help future generations come to realize their hopes and dreams."




"We should create new values by revitalizing the economy and exercising creativity and originality, and strengthen fundamental competitiveness and growth potential by correcting long-running evils in our society," said President Park. "This is the reason why the government is pushing hard to carry out its Three-year Plan for Economic Innovation."

"I will help bring about economic innovation and reform so that the warm breeze of growth will evenly permeate all corners of our daily lives, delivering on the promises I made at the launch of my administration to achieve an economic resurgence," said the president.

As for Korea-Japan relations, President Park urged Japan to earnestly face its history and to create a new history together as partners for the future.

"This year is a meaningful year as it marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between Korea and Japan," said the president. "The two nations, both upholding the values of liberal democracy and market economy, are important neighbors that are endeavoring together to pursue peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia."

"Notwithstanding that we are close neighbors geographically, the two nations have sadly failed to narrow the distance in our hearts because of conflicts over the past," she added.

"The Korean government has so far urged the Japanese government to promptly address the human rights violations that were committed against the so-called 'comfort women,' people who were forced into sexual slavery by the imperial Japanese Army during World War II, a historic task that must be resolved without fail in the interest of our nations’ future journey together," said the president.

"We have to keep in mind what a historian recently pointed out: history is not about choosing only what we want to remember, and that the recognition of history is the only path to progress. The continued attempts by the Japanese government to publish school textbooks containing distorted facts damage relations with its neighbors," said President Park. "As Germany and France became key players in rebuilding Europe by overcoming conflicts and confrontations, I hope Japan will now have the courage to recognize historic truths in a frank manner and work together with Korea to write a new chapter of history, as future partners for the next half century."





As for inter-Korea relations, the president asked North Korea to no longer shun dialogue. "Our nation was divided into a South and a North, and suffered the tragedy of a fratricidal war," said the president. "In the still divided country, we have had to endure military confrontation and tension to this day. We cannot afford to repeat the division yet again for another 70 years."

"The Seoul government is consistently pushing ahead with the trust-building process on the Korean Peninsula, and the Presidential Committee for Unification Preparation is taking the initiative in making concrete preparations for unification that could benefit both Koreas," said the president. "Our preparations are never meant to isolate the North. Rather, they are aimed at helping the North come forward as a responsible member of the international community and take the path toward shared prosperity and peace."

The president said North Korea must not spurn dialogue any longer. "More than anything else, it is imperative to address the yearnings of families separated between the South and the North," said the president. "I also look forward to expanding meaningful exchanges in sports and the arts, as well as cooperation on improving livelihoods within the year. To this end, the Seoul government will actively encourage non-governmental exchanges, which will contribute to recovering a sense of common identity."




"It will be beneficial for both sides to consult together to pursue various viable joint projects, including a reconstruction project to restart operations of the inter-Korean railway that has been disconnected for 60 years," said Park. "I hope North Korea will turn from the idea that it can protect itself with nuclear weapons, seeking instead to improve the lives of its people and choosing a path that will provide a true assurance of peace and stability for the regime, a path toward openness and change."

By Limb Jae-un
Photos: Jeon Han
Korea.net Staff Writers
jun2@korea.kr