Good morning, fellow citizens,

Today, I am sending my greetings to you from Washington, D.C. It is somewhat chilly and is drizzling here in Washington as if the weather were reflecting the recent difficulties in the U.S. economy.

I have just finished meetings with leaders from 20 countries. There was a heavy, tense atmosphere in the conference room throughout. President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso even defined the current situation as the most serious crisis ever recorded in the history of civilization. Prime Minster Kevin Rudd of Australia strongly warned that in the wake of the crises in the financial sector and the real economy, there would be serious unemployment, which in turn would spill over into political turmoil.

The Prime Minister emphasized in particular that the entire world should join forces in tackling the unemployment problem because when unemployment hits, it goes up like an elevator—very sharply, but it comes down like an escalator—very slow.

At the summit, I suggested Korea’s solution to the global crisis, which was devised after much thought and contemplation. I emphatically stressed that the world should not retrogress to protectionism under the pretext of the financial crisis. The participants expressed unanimous and complete agreement to my suggestion.

I also proposed that the foreign exchange liquidity supply for emerging economies should be expanded. My proposal was greeted with applause from both advanced and emerging countries.

In addition, I urged the participating nations to jointly take active measures to revitalize domestic consumption by expanding fiscal outlays and cutting taxes. Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn of the International Monetary Fund and other global leaders supported my suggestion by saying that the effect would double if countries around the world would simultaneously reduce taxes and increase fiscal spending.

Fortunately, most of my proposals were reflected in the agreement signed at the global summit. It was the first time in history that advanced countries and newly emerging market economies sat down together and came up with such a concrete agreement. That is because the situation is so desperate and urgent.

At the summit, we made a very significant achievement. As the Washington Post reported, at a time when global power is shifting, Korea was chosen along with the United Kingdom and Brazil to coordinate and implement the agreements of the summit this time.

It carries great historic significance in that Korea will take a primary role in efforts to forge a new economic and financial order. It will serve as a good opportunity for us to greatly strengthen our position and to speak more forcefully in the international community.

My fellow citizens,

What I reaffirmed through participation in the G-20 meeting in Washington was the significance of summit diplomacy. There has been very fierce, behind-the-scene competition among member countries in preparation for participation in this summit.

In order not to be left out in the cold, many leaders were making all-out efforts before the summit. In addition, at any given time, leaders are busy traveling around the world to meet with as many others as possible. All these global leaders served as a clear reminder of the fact that we are now living in an era of a fierce diplomatic competition. This realization helped me renew my determination. 

As a matter of fact, the Republic constitutes one of a few countries that can play a crucial role in bridging the advanced countries and newly emerging nations as well as the East and West. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown directly mentioned Korea among others to underscore the role of the emerging economies.

In this era of great changes, it is necessary for Korea to elevate its status in the international community through pragmatic, proactive diplomacy and by making active contributions. I will remain alert at every moment to faithfully carry out these roles.  

Fellow citizens,

When we cannot see the road ahead in a forest, we need to find an elevated place to gain a broad view. In order to grasp the quintessence of the current adversities facing us, it is necessary to look at ourselves not from our own narrow perspective but from a broader global perspective.

In exchanging views with leaders of other nations, I came to realize that they were working with extraordinary determination to surmount the present crisis. When I asked one leader whether there was any domestic opposition against government measures for crisis management, the leader wondered why I would raise such a question. What he meant was that the ruling and opposition parties, labor and management as well as conservatives and liberals were all in the same boat in the face of the serious crisis that was acknowledged by all.

In the case of Japan, the nation even delayed parliamentary elections in an attempt to overcome the crisis. In the United States, Congress and the Administration were united. President Bush, who is to leave the White House soon, made it very clear that agreements reached at this summit would be carried out by the incoming President, Barack Obama, who he said is a man of strong leadership and capability. I was able to confirm close cooperation between the incumbent and incoming administrations.

Fellow citizens,

In this situation, we cannot be an exception. When there is a fire, even those fighting with each other stop and cooperate in drawing water to put it out. There will be a tremendous gap between those countries that cooperate and those that fail to cooperate in the course of solving the crisis. Whether they were united or not will produce radically different results.

Many national leaders and experts who came here have predicted a rather gloomy picture for next year’s global economy. The advanced countries are predicting that their own economies will be stagnant and could even backtrack next year.

Many people are thinking that the Korean economy will become more and more difficult as time goes by. But I do not think that predicting the growth rate is important at this moment. What is most important now is to give our all in order to meet the goal that we have set.

On its part, the Government will tighten its belt and exert all-out efforts to revitalize the economy. In the process, top priorities will be given to meeting the needs of low-income families and creating jobs as well as helping small and medium-sized companies.

I am pleading with you once again.

I urge the nation’s bankers to supply money at a low rate to whoever needs it direly as if dry rice fields were being watered. Labor and management are urged to show collective wisdom by sharing the burden for the sake of all. Politicians are urged to act on the bills involving rejuvenation of the economy. The media is urged to first consider the national interest deeply and take the lead in pooling the efforts of the people.

Quite recently, a fresh precedent has been set by a militant labor union at a large company in Gumi City. In return for a 2-year job guarantee, the union agreed to accept the company’s freeze on wages and join in the movement to revive the company through various means like cost reductions. I deeply appreciate their endeavors.

To me, job creation seems to be more important than anything else. All our efforts to revitalize the real economy should be concentrated on keeping and creating jobs first and foremost. Let us unite in accomplishing that without fail.

Fellow Koreans,

I am about to leave for South America for the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. In fact, by the time you will be listening to this recorded speech, I will be in the airplane heading for S㬬o Paulo.

South America is emerging as the potentially largest market for Korea. I will try my best to reap good results at the meeting.

In this season the weather gets colder and colder, I hope you will take good care of yourselves.

Thank you very much.