Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Ceremony held to celebrate launch of Lee gov’t with citizens
President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hea Kyung thank 80 citizen representatives after receiving a “letter of appointment” plaque during an event to mark the launch of the Lee government at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
Citizens present 'letters of appointment' to president
President Lee Jae Myung celebrated the beginning of his administration in a special ceremony Friday, presenting a pledge to keep citizens at the heart of his government.
Held at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul in the evening, the event was organized after Lee’s inauguration on June 4 took place without the usual ceremony inviting dignitaries from home and abroad as well as citizens. Lee took office just one day after winning the snap presidential election, without the customary two-month transition period.
The presidential office said the ceremony, in which citizens “appointed” the president, was designed to be “a festival where citizens, as the true holders of sovereignty, appoint the president themselves.”
While thousands of citizens attended, 80 people from across the country, representing fields ranging from science and medicine to agriculture, the arts and grassroots leadership, presented Lee with symbolic “letters of appointment.” These letters took the form of illuminated plaques, which were placed inside a large cube at the center of the square. Each plaque represented part of the collective mandate.
People gather at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul for an event to mark the beginning of the Lee Jae Myung government, Friday. Yonhap
Of the 80 people, the final four, chosen for their symbolic significance, joined Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung to place the final plaques and illuminate the cube. They were Mok Jang-kyun, born on Aug. 15, 1945, and the son of independence fighter Mok Yeon-wook; Lee Guk-jong, a renowned trauma surgeon known for his lifesaving work on a captain seriously wounded after being captured by pirates in the Gulf of Aden in 2011; Lee Yeon-soo, the CEO of NC AI and a participant in the government’s artificial intelligence foundation model project; and Huh Ga-young, a film director who won first prize in the student section at the 78th Cannes Film Festival.
As the date of the ceremony coincided with the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, Lee linked the occasion to Korea’s modern history, honoring those who fought for independence, democracy and economic growth through war, pro-democracy struggle and social reform.
“Our people’s resilience has always been the foundation of the nation, and their well-being is inseparable from its prosperity,” he said. “I will move forward with confidence toward a Korea where citizens are the true owners and share in its success.”
Ranging from those who experienced liberation firsthand to the innovators and cultural figures shaping Korea’s global presence today, Lee described the four as representing “the aspirations of a people who have repeatedly transformed adversity into opportunity.”
The president pledged to advance economic reform, foster innovation and promote cultural excellence. “If we stand together, we can overcome any challenge and pass on to the next generation a Korea that is stronger and prouder than ever,” he said.
While the ceremony was intended to be a venue for “all citizens,” leaders of the main opposition People Power Party and other opposition figures declined to attend, with some critics calling it a “self-coronation.”