Lee vows to probe, reclaim assets of pro-Japanese collaborators

President Lee Jae Myung delivers a Liberation Day address at the 81st Liberation Day ceremony at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Saturday. [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung pledged Saturday to investigate and reclaim assets illicitly accumulated by pro-Japanese collaborators, vowing to hold them firmly accountable before history now that the Pro-Japanese Assets Reversion Act has been promulgated.

Speaking at the 81st Liberation Day ceremony at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Lee said the state would manage the reclaimed assets more responsibly so that the proceeds could be devoted entirely to honoring and supporting independence movement meritorious persons and their families.

In his address, Lee opened by paying tribute to the nation's independence fighters. He quoted a poet who had sung of liberation — "Sacred conversations about the sun always begin only in places with their backs to the sun" — adding that even in pitch darkness, patriots who sacrificed themselves never stopped dreaming of the return of light.

He then bowed deeply, expressing boundless respect and gratitude to the patriots who gave their lives with one heart and one purpose, as well as to surviving independence meritorious persons and their bereaved families.

President Lee Jae Myung greets attendees before delivering his address at the 81st Liberation Day ceremony at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Saturday. [Yonhap]

Special honors for independence meritorious persons, expanded recognition drive

Lee also pledged greater support for independence meritorious persons and their descendants. He said the government would treat surviving patriots and independence meritorious persons with special care, and would expand efforts to identify and posthumously honor independence activists who have yet to receive official recognition.

He went on to say the government would actively develop independence movement memorial facilities at home and abroad so that the values of the independence movement could take deeper root in everyday life, and would pass on the proud footprints of history more widely to future generations. He called on the state to commit all its resources to correcting the legacies of a wrongful history and protecting the honor and lives of those who devoted themselves to independence.

Lee also asked what light South Korea would shine on the future, saying the nation's turbulent modern history was posing that question to the present generation. He stressed that the country, which had lit the flames of liberation, industrialization and democratization, now needed a new liberation to propel itself to the next level.

He returned to his vision of an "irreplaceable Korea," saying the country stood at a critical crossroads — whether to be wrecked by towering waves or to leap forward as a leader seizing boundless opportunity. "Faced with a civilizational transformation and a seismic shift in the international order, we must create possibilities instead of counting impossibilities," he said. "We must move forward together toward an irreplaceable Korea — a country the world truly needs, a country every nation wants to cooperate with, a country no other can replace."

Lee pledged to expand the nation's growth base across the entire country so that anyone, anywhere, could pursue their dreams, and said the government would raise the economy's growth potential through active investment in the future and return the fruits of that growth equitably to all citizens nationwide.

He also said the government would build a robust ladder of opportunity spanning the entire life cycle, particularly so that young people taking their first steps in society could rise again after failure without despair. "Just as the yearning for independence and the passion for industrialization and democratization made the youth of those eras the architects of a new nation, the government will provide solid backing so that today's youth can stand tall as the architects of tomorrow," he said.

Effective measures to halt North's nuclear advancement on the table

Emphasizing a peaceful world order, Lee put three proposals to North Korea: inclusive peaceful coexistence, stable peaceful coexistence with no need to fight, and responsible peaceful coexistence that contributes to world peace.

"We feel even now, in this very moment, how directly a war being fought on the other side of the globe affects the lives of our people," Lee said. "How much greater, then, would be the cost of tension and conflict on this land?"

He went on to say that last year, from the same podium, he had declared that his government would respect the North's system, would not pursue absorption-style unification in any form, and would not engage in any hostile acts. "On this Aug. 15, one year on, I wish to present a blueprint for moving beyond principles and into action," he said.

On the first of the three proposals, Lee said the South and North must respect each other and stop unnecessary confrontation, reducing hostility one step at a time in their perceptions, norms and systems. "I hope the two Koreas will sit down together for peaceful coexistence and shared growth. This will be not a concession but a starting point for coexistence," he said.

On the second, he said mechanisms to manage tension and conflict must be established, along with multiple layers of safeguards to prevent crises and escalation. "We will comprehensively review the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and take preemptive, sustained peace measures. We will draw a response from the North and build a stable Korean Peninsula," he pledged.

On the third, Lee said peace on the Korean Peninsula would promote stability and cooperation in Northeast Asia and serve as a milestone toward a nuclear-free world, offering hope and possibility to a world suffering from conflict. "We will embark on the journey to end the war and transform the Korean Peninsula's unstable armistice regime into a peace regime," he said.

He called on all parties to set aside mutual threats and begin talks to end a very old war, adding that through such dialogue, effective measures to halt the North's advancement of its nuclear capabilities could also be discussed.

Lee also outlined a vision for South Korea-Japan relations. Just as peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula was not a choice but an obligation, he said, building a future-oriented relationship with a neighbor sharing the same front yard would begin with taking on greater responsibility and a larger role on the world stage.

He pledged that the government would continue to broaden the horizon of cooperation for shared interests on the basis of practical, national-interest diplomacy, and pool wisdom to resolve common challenges together. "Above all, for the progress made so far to continue without wavering, a firm trust between the peoples of the two countries is essential," he said.

Lee acknowledged that victims and bereaved families who still carry the wounds and pain of the past remain with us today. He noted that while the history of South Korea-Japan relations has included conflict, there have also been efforts to open the future with courage and sincerity in confronting the past — citing the 1998 Kim Dae-jung-Obuchi Joint Declaration as an example.

He added that at a time when South Korea-Japan cooperation matters more than ever, the light of a new bilateral relationship must be able to offer warmth to those who still endure pain in the shadow of history.

'People, government, center, regions, business and labor — all one team'

Lee closed by appealing for national unity. "As our great forebears proved, the dream shared by the people determines the destiny of the nation, and a common will toward hope changes the course of history," he said. "Our responsibility is to shine the light we inherited from our forebears farther and brighter — toward a better life for our people, toward the world's tomorrow."

He called for tearing down barriers from within, saying that in a contest among nations where the landscape of the global economy is being overturned, the people and the government, the center and the regions, businesses and workers must all be one team.

"No matter how different our thoughts and interests may be, the country in which we and future generations will live is one," Lee said. "The desire to pass on a better country is shared by every citizen." He pledged that his government, founded on popular sovereignty, would lead the way in the politics of compromise and coexistence.

He promised to find common answers while respecting differences, and to pool strength for the nation's future even amid competition. "That is how we will write, together with the people, a new history of liberation," he said — pledging a liberation of hope that breaks free from frustrated growth and anxiety about the future, a liberation of opportunity where anyone can take on challenges beyond the divides of imbalance and inequality, a liberation of balance where new possibilities bloom across the entire land, and a liberation of peace that fully removes the threat of war and confrontation.

moone@heraldcorp.com