photo credit: Yonhap News
President Yoon Seok-yeol, who took office yesterday (10th), finished his official schedule on the first day of his inauguration with the last VIP dinner held at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul.
President Yoon served ‘Korean food’ using local specialties to over 160 domestic and foreign guests, including overseas congratulatory delegations and officials from political and business circles.
The dinner was attended by foreign guests such as the spouse of US Vice President Douglas Emhoff and former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, as well as members of the 5th Department, including Prime Minister Kim Bu-gyeom, political figures from the ruling and opposition parties, and former president Ahn Cheol-soo, were also invited.
The heads of large corporations and economic groups, including Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, also attended the event, which seems to reflect the president’s economic philosophy, which emphasized deregulation and free competition.
“The new government will contribute to freedom, peace and prosperity, and stand for strong security and dignified diplomacy,” President Yoon said at the dinner.
He said, “We will build a future-oriented cooperative relationship with Japan,” and with respect to China, he pledged “to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Korea and China, we will seek effective cooperation with China, our close neighbor, in the spirit of mutual respect.”
