President Yoon Suk-yeol on March 29 chaired the first session of the second Summit for Democracy co-hosted by Korea and the United States on the theme of economic growth and shared prosperity.
In the virtual event, President Yoon highlighted his intent to contribute to the promotion and protection of freedom and prosperity through solidarity with the international community.
Led by Washington, the inaugural summit was held in December 2021 in response to the global decline of democracy. The second edition from March 29-30 was co-hosted by the U.S., Korea, the Netherlands, Zambia and Costa Rica.
The first day saw the plenary session through videoconferencing led by the leaders of the five co-hosting countries and the second in-person ministerial regional meetings chaired by each of the five.
Director of National Security Kim Sung-han on March 23 told a media briefing, "Co-hosting the second Summit for Democracy holds significance as it shows the world how Korea is taking the lead in resolving the global issue of democracy's decline."
Then he added: "We expect this summit to serve as an opportunity to demonstrate Korea's willingness to practice rules and values on the global stage and raise the country's international leadership and national prestige.
"It is significant for Korea, which recovered from war and poverty thanks to help from the international community and developed into an advanced democratic country, to contribute to the world by sharing its accumulated know-how."
