Good morning, my fellow citizens,

Now, I am on my way back to Seoul from Jakarta, Indonesia after concluding state visits to three countries-New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia. I am recording this address on the plane, thus the sound quality is not all that good. I hope you will understand.

During a relatively short weeklong visit, I met with the leaders of three countries as well as the heads of both ruling and opposition parties and business leaders. They were all doing their utmost to join forces and surmount the current economic crisis.

I am pleased to report that the achievements made this time in the area of securing resources, promoting defense industries and attracting investment went beyond what was originally planned. Yet other good news is that the leaders of the three countries, which are no exceptions in suffering from the current economic difficulties, projected that Korea would be the first country to steer itself out of the crisis.

In addition, they wanted to listen to how we successfully overcame the foreign exchange crisis a decade ago. The leaders have also shown a high level of interest in various programs such as job sharing pursued by the Korean Government.

I came to an agreement with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to speak with one voice as middle powers at the G‐20 meeting in London early next month.

In particular, Prime Minister Rudd and I saw eye to eye on the fact that the expansion of fiscal spending and liquidation of banks’ non‐performing loans were urgently needed for global economic recovery. We also shared the view that countries around world have to join forces to achieve these goals. Against this backdrop, we agreed to play leading roles in encouraging member countries to collaborate in this area at the G‐20 meeting. Delving into a wide range of other issues, Prime Minister Rudd and I sat together till late at night after the official dinner in the absence of other officials, which is quite unusual.

Australia is well known for abundant resources and advanced technologies while Indonesia has measureless potential as one of leading countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The agreements to proactively work together with these two countries in various areas, including the economy, diplomacy and security as well as to strengthen collaboration on the global stage, represent far greater achievements than expected. I believe such an outcome will also greatly help elevate the status of Korea in the international arena over the years to come.

My fellow citizens,

A story that I was told at the Australian War Memorial was touching. A guide said that the Australian Parliament stands directly opposite the War Memorial to keep lawmakers alert. He added that such an arrangement was aimed at ensuring that lawmakers make the right decisions all the time knowing that the young soldiers who had given their lives in response to the call of the nation are always watching them. On my way out, I met Australian Korean War veterans. When I expressed my appreciation for the fact that they had risked their lives to help safeguard Korea, tears started to gather in their eyes. They grabbed my hands and said they were deeply moved to see the Republic, which they defended with all they had, now stand tall in the international arena.

Fellow Koreans,

During the state visits, I was also very pleased to find out that countries gave a high evaluation to the low‐carbon, green growth policy, which is an important vision and policy goal of my Administration. They proposed to work together in the related projects.

A case in point is that the globally renowned financial company, Macquarie Group, the largest in Australia, decided to invest in one of Korea’s new and renewable energy development projects by setting up a US$1 billion or 1.6 trillion won fund.

In Australia, I went to a research institute at New South Wales University, which is a global leader in research in photovoltaics, one of the advanced green technologies, and agreed to carry out binational joint research. In fact, I found some young Korean scientists were already working there. Also, the two countries agreed to collaborate in the development of carbon capture technology used to eliminate carbon dioxide emission from coal.

Securing original technology in these fields is crucial, as it will decide Korea’s position in the new international economic order that will emerge in the aftermath of the current economic crisis. And this explains why nations of the world are now involved in cutthroat competition in this area. According to our national strategy, Korea is now positioned to develop alternative energy sources in Indonesia such as palm oil and marine products, including agar‐agar. Our business firms will also be able to cultivate forestland, about the size of Gyeongsangbuk‐do province, which is the basis of green growth.

These accomplishments were made possible by the brave efforts of Korean businesses that early on ventured into the remotest areas and by the Government’s pragmatic summit diplomacy. Currently, there are 100,000 compatriots in Australia and 30,000 of them are students. In Indonesia, more than 1,300 Korean businesses are employing half a million workers of that country.

Many business professionals of the countries I visited showed keen interest in the Korean Government’s pragmatic diplomacy. I met a number of people representing leading businesses of the three countries. Some of them flew for three or four hours just to attend the business meetings that I addressed, making the gatherings very enthusiastic.

Fellow Koreans,

The most impressive thing I witnessed during my trip was that there were no partisan differences in the efforts to tide over the economic crisis, regardless of whether their countries were developing or developed.

At every dinner and other official meeting, opposition leaders were there, speaking in the interest of their nations. I was truly envious. In Australia, the opposition party leader delivered a welcoming address. In Indonesia, the Speaker of the Parliament promised to create a special committee and pass laws to help Korean businesses in his country.

It is fortunate that encouraging signs also have begun to appear recently in Korea, as we saw in the grand compromise between labor, management, civil society and the Government. Some labor unions, which constituted an element of some concern, have changed and joined the national drive to overcome the crisis. It is significant that job sharing is spreading as well. I firmly believe that when the crisis is over, the world should give us high marks for such endeavors.

It is regrettable, however, that a small number of people here and there are still engaged in totally opposing whatever the Government does. I wonder for whom and for what they behave the way they do.

I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to every citizen to join forces in tackling the national crisis.

Fellow Koreans,

I place great trust in the labor unions and workers that practice job sharing in these difficult times. I have trust in our business professionals who are running around the globe in order to find a niche market and sell one more Korean product. The nation has hope because of them. We may be experiencing hardships now, but we all should never lose hope.

I thank and love every one of you.