“As the President of the Republic of Korea, I would like to apologize again for being late.”

On the 19th, President Yoon Seok-yeol bowed in front of his compatriots who were victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan안전놀이터. President Yoon is the first sitting president to meet a compatriot who was a victim of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. President Yoon, who visited Hiroshima, Japan on the same day to attend the G7 summit, had a meeting with compatriots who were victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as his last official schedule on his first day

. About 20 people attended the interview, including the first generation of atomic bomb victims, their descendants, and officials from Mindan, the Republic of Korea in Hiroshima, Japan. President Yoon first said, “It is difficult for me to measure your pain and sorrow, but I would like to take this opportunity to express my condolences to all of you and our compatriots who have been sacrificed.” Their past dates back to August 6, 1945, when the United States dropped the first atomic bomb in history, ‘Little Boy’, on Hiroshima. At the time, there were about 140,000 Koreans in Hiroshima, including those who were forcibly mobilized during the Japanese colonial period, and 50,000 of them are known to have suffered damage from the atomic bombing. Later, Mindan Hiroshima Headquarters took the lead and erected a memorial stone on April 10, 1970, and moved the memorial stone to Hiroshima Peace Park in 1999. After mentioning the process of building the monument, President Yoon said, “I would like to express my gratitude to many people, including Hiroshima Mindan, for their efforts.”

President Yoon Seok-yeol, who visited Japan to attend the G7 summit, gives a closing remark at a meeting with Hiroshima Korean atomic bomb victims held at a hotel in Hiroshima on the 19th . Hiroshima = Newsis

President Yoon also mentioned the plan to jointly visit the memorial monument for Korean atomic bomb victims with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, adding meaning, “It is the first time in history that the heads of Korea and Japan visit a memorial monument together, and it is the first time for a Korean president to visit a memorial monument.” President Yoon continued, “I think the Korean president’s visit to the memorial was too late. We promise to open up a prosperous future together.”

Along with this, President Yoon said in his closing remarks, “When our compatriots were hit by atomic bombs, we were in a state of colonization, liberation, and independence, but the country was powerless, and it was really difficult to be invaded by communism.” Koreans are experiencing hardships and suffering in other places, but the government and state of the Republic of Korea were not by your side,” he apologized on behalf of the government.

Referring to the Office of Overseas Koreans, which will be established in June, President Yoon promised, “I will invite the compatriots who were bombed in Hiroshima, their families, Mindan and many Korean officials who worked hard together to visit Korea sometime soon.” . At the same time, he bowed once more, saying, “On behalf of the government, I really apologize once again for not being able to be with you during difficult times.”

President Yoon Seok-yeol, who visited Japan to attend the G7 summit, speaks at a meeting with fellow Hiroshima atomic bomb victims held at a hotel in Hiroshima on the 19th. Newsis = Hiroshima

Kwon Joon-oh, the 4th chairman of the Special Committee on Countermeasures for Atomic Bomb Victims of Korea, who attended the meeting, said, “Those who suffered from the atomic bombing have lived their lives in the past, now and in the future, wishing for a peaceful world, and we will do our best in the future.” Kwon Yang-baek, former head of the committee for relocation of the memorial monument, who was a party to the atomic bombings, said, “Let’s not dwell on the past too much, let’s not get too caught up in it, let’s look forward and go,” and “Let’s cooperate so that a tragedy like this does not happen again.” He said, “I am also one of the atomic bomb survivors and will be included in the memorial stone when I die.”