The President , while presiding over one of his senior staff meetings on national fiscal strategies, commented that "I join the people of Korea in mourning the death of former President Roh. I believe it is our responsibility to ensure that such a tragedy never occurs again."

He also noted that "(Former President Roh) would have wanted to see our nation pull together its wisdom, overcome the crises that face us, and become one of the first country to come out of the current economic turmoil. He would have no doubt agreed that those who are the most underprivileged in our society and marginalized from the prosperity that we have achieved in the past decades, are the ones in most need of encouragement and hope."