My dear fellow Koreans, beloved veterans and members of the armed forces, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

I wish to especially thank the distinguished members from participating countries as well as members of the diplomatic corp for attending.

Sixty years ago, on September 15th, General Douglas MacArthur led the UN forces and the Korean armed forces towards Incheon, retaking it and moved on towards the capital, Seoul.

And right on this very same spot where I am standing today, our Marines led by second lieutenant Park Jeong mo hoisted and planted the Korean flag, letting the world know that we recaptured our capital city.

The recapturing of Seoul on September 28th was a pivotal moment in history; it defended this nation’s freedom from communist aggression and was the starting point for the Republic of Korea. As we celebrate the 62nd Armed Forces Day, it is fitting that we are gathered here on this very historic place.

I offer my most sincere respect and gratitude to all the men and women in uniform who fought for and died defending our nation. I offer my most solemn respect to the members of the UN forces. To all the war veterans and their families, I offer my warmest respect and admiration.

Right now, our young soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen are guarding freedom and liberty here on the peninsula and across the world. I thank every one of them for their sacrifice and service to the nation.

Members of the armed forces,

As we commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the Armed Forces Day, the path that our armed forces must take is clear.

First, our armed forces must faithfully carry out its sacred duties and become once again an armed forces that can be proud of itself and respected by others. When our armed forces were first founded, they literally had nothing. They had almost no weapons and soldiers were few. Nonetheless, this did not stop them from fighting and ultimately defeating the communists. Our armed forces had the spirit of freedom and love for country.

The great general who once led the UN forces, General Mark Clark once praised the Korean men in uniform by saying that “There is nothing impossible for the Korean armed forces. These are soldiers who create something out of nothing.”

Thanks to our armed forces, Korea was able to achieve remarkable progress over the last six decades. The people trusted the armed forces and were able to enjoy freedom, invest all their time in promoting their livelihoods and venture forth to the world.

However, we were once again reminded of the harsh reality that we are living in when 46 of our sailors lost their lives due to an attack perpetrated by North Korea. Our armed forces have become complacent after sixty years of armistice. Unfortunately, their readiness slackened over the years.

As a result, they were unable to react effectively in times of emergency despite having superior weaponry, personnel and equipments. They were also comparatively unprepared to incursions from asymmetrical threats.

We must now identify what our weaknesses are and fix them. We must use this as an opportunity to bring about reform in our armed forces. What is needed the most is the true spirit of a soldier. A strong armed forces is made possible not only by having state of the art weaponry and technology but also strong will and an unbreakable spirit. Our armed forces must now faithfully carry out its mission and solemn duty armed with this strong and unbreakable spirit and by reforming itself. Only when the armed forces are strong and respected can it deter aggression, win wars and maintain peace. Peace on the Korean peninsula will ensure peace and prosperity beyond Northeast Asia.

Our armed forces must also become an advanced armed forces befitting the changing times. The world is fast changing at a fierce pace. Security environment is also changing rapidly. Our armed forces must keep pace with such changes; it must adapt its military operating systems and alter the culture within our barracks and camps. In particular, it must recognize that our young service men and women are resourceful, creative and with outstanding talents. They have been challenging the world in many areas and they have excelled. We must help them blossom; we must channel such enthusiasm and energy. Serving in the military is not just about fulfilling ones duty to the country; it is about willingly serving the people and the country.

Our armed forces must also become one that contributes to the betterment of mankind, to global peace and stability, prosperity. The cold war era has ended but we still have global menaces such as nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism. Thre are also new types of threats that are endangering our peace. No country is exempt from these threats; therefore, it is important that we all work together. We are now a global village; no single country is capable of ensuring its own security or prosperity on its own.

Korea this year is the host of the G20 Summit. We are doing our best to ensure strong, sustainable growth of the world economy. We hope to put in place a global financial safety net; reduce the gap between the advanced and emerging economies. We are seeking specific measures that will help us achieve these goals.

We are also going to host the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in 2012. Here, we will discuss a Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons and do all that we can to bring about a world without nuclear weapons.

Our armed forces are currently providing aid and carrying out peaceful reconstruction efforts off the coast of Somalia, in Afghanistan and in Haiti.

Sixty years ago, we were able to defend our freedom and sovereignty because of our friends around the world. Now, we are prepared to do our part to defend freedom and liberty around the world.

The times call for your sacrifice. As your commander in chief, I commend the work that you are doing for your country. I give you my deepest respect and affection.

My dear fellow Koreans,

I ask that you give our armed forces your trust, affection and encouragement. Today, we are remembering the historic meaning of the recapture of our capital Seoul; I hope we can look back on what it means to celebrate 62 years of our armed forces.