ID :
190848
Fri, 06/24/2011 - 12:23
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/190848
The shortlink copeid
Lee offers salute to Korean War veterans
(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with new quotes)
SEOUL, June 24 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak saluted hundreds of Korean War veterans from home and abroad Friday for helping to save his nation from North Korea's invasion and renewed his pledge to search ceaselessly for the remains of South Korean soldiers killed in the conflict.
"We will never forget the veterans. We will respect all of you. Our descendants will remember and be grateful to you," Lee said during a reception that the government hosted for veterans in commemoration of the June 25 outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Without the veterans' sacrifices, South Korea would not have become what it is now, Lee said.
"Even an inch of land cannot be won for free, and freedom cannot be won for free. Without sacrifices, we cannot defend an inch of land, and without sacrifices, we cannot defend freedom," he said during the ceremony at the War Museum of Korea in central Seoul, which drew about 900 veterans, foreign diplomats and officials.
Lee reiterated his commitment to finding the remains of some 130,000 South Korean soldiers killed in the war, who "must be buried in North Korea or somewhere." He vowed to continue the search "until the remains of the last soldier are found."
Also in attendance were some former South Korean prisoners of war (POWs) who returned home in the last decade or so after spending decades in the communist North following their capture during the conflict.
"I acutely felt the importance of freedom while suffering from harsh treatment and contempt in North Korea for decades," said Yoo Young-bok, a former POW who returned home after fleeing the North in 2000 at the age of 70.
William Mac Swain, an American veteran, 80, said he is proud of helping defend South Korea, which rebuilt itself from the ashes of the war into a stable democracy with a robust economy.
jschang@yna.co.kr
SEOUL, June 24 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak saluted hundreds of Korean War veterans from home and abroad Friday for helping to save his nation from North Korea's invasion and renewed his pledge to search ceaselessly for the remains of South Korean soldiers killed in the conflict.
"We will never forget the veterans. We will respect all of you. Our descendants will remember and be grateful to you," Lee said during a reception that the government hosted for veterans in commemoration of the June 25 outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Without the veterans' sacrifices, South Korea would not have become what it is now, Lee said.
"Even an inch of land cannot be won for free, and freedom cannot be won for free. Without sacrifices, we cannot defend an inch of land, and without sacrifices, we cannot defend freedom," he said during the ceremony at the War Museum of Korea in central Seoul, which drew about 900 veterans, foreign diplomats and officials.
Lee reiterated his commitment to finding the remains of some 130,000 South Korean soldiers killed in the war, who "must be buried in North Korea or somewhere." He vowed to continue the search "until the remains of the last soldier are found."
Also in attendance were some former South Korean prisoners of war (POWs) who returned home in the last decade or so after spending decades in the communist North following their capture during the conflict.
"I acutely felt the importance of freedom while suffering from harsh treatment and contempt in North Korea for decades," said Yoo Young-bok, a former POW who returned home after fleeing the North in 2000 at the age of 70.
William Mac Swain, an American veteran, 80, said he is proud of helping defend South Korea, which rebuilt itself from the ashes of the war into a stable democracy with a robust economy.
jschang@yna.co.kr
