Yoon, Biden announce S. Korea to host 3rd Summit for Democracy

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, March 29 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that South Korea will host a third Summit for Democracy in the future.

The two leaders announced the decision in a joint statement released before the plenary session of the second Summit for Democracy was to kick off, with the virtual participation of leaders from around the world.

"The United States and the Republic of Korea share deep bonds, rooted in our common democratic values and respect for human rights, and we are committed to further strengthening our robust political, economic, security, and people-to-people ties," the statement said, referring to South Korea by its formal name.

"As a reflection of this work, we are looking forward to co-hosting the second Summit for Democracy today to continue building the connections among democracies, so that we can better deliver for the needs of our people and the world. And today, we are announcing that the Republic of Korea will host a future, third Summit," it said.

South Korea is one of five co-hosts of this year's summit, along with the United States, Costa Rica, the Netherlands and Zambia.

The five countries' leaders will each host a plenary session, with Yoon set to lead the first plenary on "Democracy Delivering Economic Growth and Shared Prosperity."

"The Republic of Korea's democratic institutions are a beacon of strength in the Indo-Pacific and demonstrate to the world that democracy fosters the conditions needed to cultivate continued security and prosperity," the statement read, adding that South Korea has in recent years emerged as a global leader partly because of the Korean people's commitment to increasing governmental transparency, ensuring effective checks and balances, and developing laws that are responsive to public needs.

"Cooperation among strong, resilient democracies is essential to tackling the world's greatest challenges," it noted, listing tasks such as safeguarding shared security and prosperity, addressing the climate crisis, promoting global health and pandemic preparedness, and ensuring new and emerging technologies work for, not against, democratic societies.

"We are proud to continue our work together to ensure that the momentum built by the first two Summits for Democracy will continue into the future and reflect this effort's global leadership," it said.

hague@yna.co.kr
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