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President Moon Jae-in (Yonhap) |
President Moon Jae-in will share the nation’s democratic achievements at a summit hosted by US President Joe Biden on Tuesday night.
During the two-day virtual “Summit for Democracy,” 110 countries will share opinions on how to guard against authoritarianism, eradicate corruption and promote respect for human rights. China and Russia were excluded.
In the first part of the plenary session, Moon plans to share South Korea’s democratic achievements and outline the nation’s commitment to the promotion of democracy in the international community.
Separately, the president is expected to pledge to restore democracy’s resilience in a prerecorded video.
The summit will be attended by more than 100 leaders of countries allied with the US, including the UK, Australia, Japan and India. Countries forced to deal with authoritarian regimes were also invited -- such as Taiwan, which is at odds with China, and Ukraine, which has tensions with Russia.
The presidential office said, “It is natural for Korea, a leading democratic country in Asia, to attend the summit for democracy involving more than 100 countries. China and Russia also understand that Korea is attending the meeting.”
At this meeting, Biden may encourage allies to participate in a “diplomatic boycott” of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February next year.
After the US decided to keep its diplomats away from the sporting event, the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand announced they would do the same. Japan is reportedly considering following suit.
Cheong Wa Dae said it was not considering boycotting the sporting event so far.
By Shin Ji-hye (
shinjh@heraldcorp.com)
