'A world where people live as people' remains an ongoing task, Lee says

President Lee Jae Myung speaks at the "Youth Budget Unboxing 2027" event held at Cheong Wa Dae on Friday. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung speaks at the "Youth Budget Unboxing 2027" event held at Cheong Wa Dae on Friday. [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung on Monday congratulated the publication of a biography of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, pledging to carry on Roh's legacy by pursuing governance that brings real change to people's lives.

Writing on Facebook, Lee said he "sincerely congratulates the publication of the meaningful 'Roh Moo-hyun Biography,' which captures the life and philosophy of President Roh Moo-hyun." He added that "to read a person's life again is also to meet anew the thoughts and dreams he left behind," and that opening the biography had led him to reflect once more on the path Roh had walked and the ideals he had left behind.

Lee also shared a deep personal reflection on the late president while reaffirming his sense of responsibility as the nation's leader. "Most memories fade with time, but there are some that grow sharper as the years pass," he wrote. "For me, the three syllables 'Roh Moo-hyun' are like that. Much time has passed, yet his absence still does not feel familiar."

Lee then said that before becoming president, he had looked upon the path Roh had walked. "Now that I stand on that path myself, the anguish, solitude and weight of decision embedded in every word reach me with a resonance and gravity quite different from before," he said.

"'A world where people live as people' — the dream President Roh carried throughout his life — still remains an ongoing task before us," Lee said. "Remembering Roh Moo-hyun is not simply an act of looking back at the past. I believe it means confronting anew, in today's reality, the questions he posed, and finding the answers our era demands."

Lee went on to say that "we must stay true to principles while keeping our feet on the ground, and find answers that actually change people's lives rather than stopping at good intentions and slogans." He added that "it is by advancing one step at a time in that way that we can draw closer to the Korea we dream of."

Lee said he hoped the biography would serve as "an occasion for fresh reflection for those who remember President Roh, and a precious opportunity for generations less familiar with him to encounter his life and era anew."


sunpine@heraldcorp.com