Yoon says, "To love one's neighbor is the way to realize the reason Jesus came to this world"
President Yoon Suk-yeol and first lady Kim Keon-hee attended Christmas Mass and a church worship service on Dec. 25. The Office of the President said that the president and his wife in the morning attended a Christmas Day service at Youngam Presbyterian Church in Seongbuk-dong, Seoul.
President Yoon attended the church from the first to seventh grade and returned there for the first time in 49 years. He also spent time with his former teachers at Daegwang Elementary School.
After the service, the president said, "On Christmas Day, Jesus came to the lowest place on Earth to save the poor and all the weak," adding, "To love one's neighbor and fulfill our responsibilities are the ways to realize the reason Jesus came to this world."
On Christmas Eve, the president and his wife attended Christmas Mass at Yakhyeon Catholic Church in Seoul's Jung-gu District.
This cathedral started its history as a venue for Catholics to receive religious training while hiding from persecution from the royal court.
"According to Jesus, the truth will set you free and that truth is his words," the president said. "The most important of Jesus' sayings is loving one's neighbor like one's own body."
"I think that the love and solidarity of our community free all of us and guarantee the peace and prosperity of the community," he added. "As president, I will work harder so that our society can achieve freedom, prosperity and peace based on love, philanthropy and solidarity."