President Yoon and his wife attend the 74th anniversary event of the Korean War 

President Yoon and his wife attended the ‘74th Anniversary of the Korean War’ held at EXCO in Daegu on June 25. This year's event was held in Daegu to highlight battles in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, such as the battles of Dabu-dong, Yeongcheon, and Pohang, which were turning points in the Korean War. In his commemorative address, he prayed for the peace of the fallen soldiers of the United Nations forces and the heroes of the country who sacrificed their precious lives to protect the freedom and peace of the Republic of Korea, and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families. He said that the soldiers fought fiercely in Pohang, Chilgok Dabu-dong, Angang, and Yeongcheon, as well as throughout Daegu and Gyeongbuk, and achieved valuable victories, and that this decisive victory was a turning point for South Korea to overcome a desperate crisis and get back on its feet.

He said that we have achieved a remarkable miracle of industrialization and are leaping forward to become a model liberal democracy and a global hub. At the event, veteran Lee Ha-young, who actually participated in the Battle of Dabu-dong, went on stage and read a letter under the theme of ‘To the comrade I miss,’ and deeply touched the attendees. About 1,300 people attended the event, including veterans of the Korean War, key government figures and key military officials, diplomatic envoys from UN member countries that participated in the Korean War, members of the National Assembly, and ordinary citizens, expressing their gratitude to veterans.

Yoon visits the US Roosevelt aircraft carrier as an implementation measure of the ‘Washington Declaration’

President Yoon visited the U.S. Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier docked at the Busan Naval Operations Base on June 25. This is the third time that a sitting president has boarded a U.S. aircraft carrier, following former President Park Chung-hee in 1974 and former President Kim Young-sam in 1994. The Roosevelt aircraft carrier's visit to Korea is an implementation measure of the 'Washington Declaration' adopted by the leaders of the ROK and the United States in April last year, and symbolizes the United States' ironclad defense commitment to Korea, including strong extended deterrence. On the flight deck, he received a detailed explanation from Christopher Alexander, commander of the 9th Carrier Strike Group, about the F/A-18, the carrier's main fighter aircraft, and various equipment required for takeoff and landing. The F/A-18 is also a fighter plane that appeared in the movie ‘Top Gun Maverick’. After completing his inspection of the Roosevelt, he moved to the hangar and encouraged about 300 Korean and American soldiers. He said that North Korea is advancing its nuclear and missile capabilities and professing the possibility of using nuclear weapons first, threatening peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the region. The ROK-US alliance is stronger than ever, and our alliance, the greatest in the world, can defeat any enemy and win. He said that the Roosevelt will set sail tomorrow to participate in 'Freedom Edge', the first multi-domain military exercise among South Korea, the US and Japan, and the cooperation of the three countries, which share the values of liberal democracy, is another step along with the ROK-US alliance and would be a powerful deterrence.