Says Rep. Kim Jung-hoon at the UAE National Day party
By Publisher Lee Kyung-sik with Business Editor Suing Jung-wook
National Assemblyman Kim Jung-hoon said, “The Republic of Korea and the United Arab Emirates share an intimate relationship dynamically interacting in various dimensions, including the economy, culture and defense as strategic partners.”
Rep. Kim, chairman of the Korea-UAE Parliamentary Friendship Association, made the remarks in his impressive speech made at the celebration reception of the National Day of the UAE celebrated in the grandest scale in Seoul on Dec. 2, 2019 at Hotel Shilla, among the few largest in Korea for this year.
Then he said, “As the coming year marks the 40th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Korea and the UAE, there are various cultural events under way to commemorate the Anniversary.’ Rep. Kim had a long string of praises in regard to the ever growing ties of relations and cooperation between the two countries.
Rep. Kim then added: “The Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum is planning a special Korean culture exhibition, and Korea-UAE Illustrated poems exhibition is in preparation to be held at the National Assembly of Korea towards the end of April, next year.” (See excerpts from his speech at the end of this report.)
About one thousand distinguished guests, or perhaps more, attended the reception, who included Korean government leaders, ambassadors of many countries accredited to Korea and leading figures from all walks of life in the Korean and international communities, who included Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik of The Korea Post media, publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean-language media outlets for the past 35 years since 1985.
Excerpts from the speech of Chairman Kim Jung-hoon of Korea-UAE Parliamentary Friendship Association:
Korea and the UAE share an intimate relationship dynamically interacting in various dimensions including the economy, culture and defense as strategic partners.
As the coming year is the 40th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Korea and the UAE, there are various cultural events under way to commemorate the Anniversary.
The Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum is planning a special Korean culture exhibition, and Korea-UAE Illustrated poems exhibition is in preparation to be held at the National Assembly of Korea towards the end of April, next year.
I am the Chairman of Korea-UAE Parliamentary Friendship Association Kim, Jung-Hoon. First, I would like to sincerely congratulate the 48th National Day of the United Arab Emirates. I would like to show my special appreciation to His Excellency Ambassador Al Nuaimi and to the UAE Embassy’s affiliates for preparing and hosting this meaningful event, and also a word of appreciation to each and every ambassador and distinguished guest to this significant event.
Korea and the UAE share an intimate relationship dynamically interacting in various dimensions including the economy, culture and defense as strategic partners. As the coming year is the 40th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Korea and the UAE, there are various cultural events under way to commemorate the Anniversary.
The Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum is planning a special Korean culture exhibition, and Korea-UAE Illustrated poems exhibition is in preparation to be held at the National Assembly of Korea towards the end of April, next year. I hope that the participants in this event would also attend the Illustrated Poems exhibition at the National Assembly next year.
The UAE government proclaimed that the year of 2019 is the Year of Tolerance, an orientation to welcome all religions and for the coexistence of peace. I sincerely yearn for this perception of tolerance may spread across the Middle East and throughout the world.
As we are facing the last month of the year 2019. May all the participants’wishes have been fulfilled, and may the prosperity, success, and peace of the UAE last forever more. Thank you.
Profile of Representative Kim Jung-hoon:
Representative Kim Jung-hoon is a three-term member of the Republic of Korea’s National Assembly. He was first elected in 2004 to represent Nam-gu District in Busan, and reelected in the general elections of 2008 and 2012. He also served a term as Chairman of the National Policy Committee of the 19th National Assembly, a term that ended in June, 2014. This key standing committee oversees the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans’ Affairs, the Finance Supervisory Commission, and the Fair Trade Commission.
In 2009, Representative Kim attended the 64th General Assembly of the United Nations, where he made a persuasive appeal to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon about the historical and moral importance of the UN Memorial Cemetery, located in his home district of Nam-gu. The following year, his appeal resulted in the UN designation of Nam-gu as a Special Peace and Culture Zone of the United Nations, the only such zone in the world.
In July, 2013, serving as President Park Geun-hye’s special envoy, Representative Kim attended the commemorative ceremony for the 60th Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice in Washington, DC, where he met with President Barack Obama and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.
Representative Kim reinforced his commitment to U.S. veterans of the Korean War in January, 2014, when he founded the American Veterans of Korea Foundation (AVKF), which he currently chairs. AVKF’s mission is to support American Korean War veterans and their families and descendants. Under his leadership, AVKF has embarked on a number of projects, among them the establishment of an annual scholarship program for veterans’ descendants; close involvement in the creation of a Chosin Few Memorial on the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia; and a Korean War Veterans’ Benefit Concert which will take place at Carnegie Hall in New York on June 25, 2015, the 65th Anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War.
Representative Kim graduated from Hanyang University with an LL.B. degree in 1987, and received an Honorary Doctorate in Political Science from Pukyong National University in 2013. He currently serves as a senior member of the ruling Saenuri (New Frontier) Party.