Induce N. Korea to the path of trust and changes
President Park Geun-hye said on the New Year’s Day in 2015 that in the New Year she will try to reinforce the foundation to rusher in the era of US$40,000 in per-capital GNI and help North Korea to join the international community with an eventual aim to achieve peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula. Details of the New Year address follow:
New year 2015, the Year of the Sheep, has dawned. I hope all your dreams and hopes will come true throughout the year.
This historic year marks the 70th anniversary of liberation and, at the same time, of the division of the country. Over the past 70 years, all Koreans came together to achieve the Miracle on the Han River with an indomitable determination and have also defended and developed liberal democracy.
Now, we are standing at a starting point for another 70 years of the Republic of Korea. We are tasked with a historic duty to leave a proud Republic to our posterity just as the generations before us did.
To fulfill such a responsibility, first and foremost, it is imperative to reinvigorate our economy. The Government will strive to further fan the flame of economic recovery, which we worked very hard to ignite together with the people last year. The Government will also endeavor to change the fundamentals of the economy so that it will be centered on creativity and innovation, reinforcing the foundation for ushering in an era of US$40,000 in per capita income.
To build a society characterized by integrity, safety and trust, the Government will remain committed to rooting out long-accumulated ills. On the strength of solid security readiness, it will work to put an end to the 70-year-long division, which has caused severance and conflicts, and induce North Korea to the path of trust and changes. In the process, the Government will lay a substantive, concrete foundation on which to achieve unification.
Along the way, the most important thing will be the united spirit of the Korean people. As the old saying goes, “If you come to a mountain, make a road; if you come to water, lay a bridge.” I am confident that if we all bring our determination and potential together to seek innovation and advancement, we will be able to overcome any difficulty.
In the New Year, I hope we will be able to jointly find solutions to all the challenges before us. I hope you will achieve everything you set your minds to, and I ask you to join together to usher in a time of transformation and hope.
May the Year of the Sheep bring you all an abundance of good fortune and blessings.