외교부

Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to welcome all of you to this session on “the Republic of Korea’s Leadership for Promoting Democracy in the Asian Region.” And I would like to express my sincere gratitude to our distinguished panel for being here today.
 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

During the ‘Arab Spring’ last year, we all witnessed the aspiration for freedom and dignity of people across borders in the Middle East and North Africa. More recently, democratic developments in Myanmar have clearly shown that ‘democracy’ based on the freedom and dignity of people is no longer an option but a necessity as a fundamental and universal value.

Across the Asian region, many countries have taken the road to democratization over the last few decades. The Republic of Korea also has undergone a long process of trial and error and struggled for the promotion of democracy and human rights in the Korean society. As a result, Korea achieved both industrialization and democratization together in a generation. For the Republic of Korea, economic growth and democratization have been achieved in a mutually reinforcing manner.

Since our experience may serve as a valuable reference for other developing countries that wish to achieve both democratic advances and economic growth at the same time, we are now willing to share our experience and lessons learned with countries in transition. President Lee Myung-bak of Korea, at the recent meeting with Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, vowed to help Myanmar to promote democracy and human rights.

Today, not only our own determination but indeed also the expectations of the international community serve as a spur to us to do our part in the regional and global efforts to promote democracy and human rights. As a successful model of democracy and development, Korea is often considered as the most well-suited to be an effective promoter of democracy and human rights.

In this regard, at the global level, Korea actively supports the promotion of democracy as a member of the Community of Democracies, and co-chairs its Working Group on Regional Cooperation. At the regional level, we also play a leading role in the Asia-Pacific Democracy Partnership and the Bali Democracy Forum.

In addition, our democratic institutions such as the National Election Commission (NEC) and the Constitutional Court as well as the National Human Rights Commission of Korea assume a leadership role in sharing their experience and know-how with other developing democracies in Asia.

For example, the Constitutional Court of Korea hosted the Inaugural Congress of the Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions in Seoul last week, and adopted the “Seoul Declaration” for the development of democracy, the rule of law and promotion of human rights and freedom in Asia. Meanwhile, as a chair of the Association of Asian Election Authorities, the NEC leads the establishment of the Association of World Election Bodies. 

Against this backdrop, we have invited distinguished panelists from both the private and public sector to share views and ideas on how Korea can play an even greater role in strengthening democracy and human rights in Asia.

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