Secretary-General, in remarks at national assembly, urges Republic of Korea

to look outward, share material success with less fortunate nations

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the National Assembly in Seoul, Republic of Korea, 4 July:

I am deeply moved and honoured to be with you this afternoon.  Indeed, it is difficult to fully express my joy at being back in Seoul and among all of you.

In 18 months as Secretary-General of the United Nations, I have travelled to dozens of countries and visited virtually every part of the world.  I have met inspiring individuals and seen indescribable sights.  I have been feted by kings and welcomed into humble homes.  But this is the trip for which both my wife and I have been counting the days -- the trip back home.

Now that we are here, and among so many friends and familiar faces, I am moved by powerful emotions.  Principal among them is a great sense of pride.

Being outside one’s home, indeed having travelled to all corners of the earth, allows one to see one’s own country more clearly.  As I work with other countries struggling to escape the ravages of war, I am acutely aware how far we as a country have come, and what great drive and discipline Koreans have shown as we have built up our country from the ashes of war.  I am also mindful of what we as a nation owe the United Nations and all who helped us when we most needed it.

As the United Nations seeks to help countries all over the world struggle to overcome poverty, I am more aware than ever of the great resilience displayed by the Korean people through decades of hardship, not knowing when, or if, we would ever reach that bright future we imagined.

And Koreans showed great courage, throwing off the yoke of authoritarianism and embracing democracy, rule of law, and human rights for all.

None of this should be taken for granted.

But there is another side.  To prepare for coming to Korea I asked my international staff at the United Nations to prepare a draft speech that would reflect what they thought I should say to you.  The result was sobering.  Where we Koreans take pride in our many accomplishments as a nation -- as we should -- they see a nation that can and must do more on the world stage.  This, too, we Koreans must internalize.  I am delivering this message to you, representatives of the Korean people.

Korea may not be a great Power, but it can be a great nation.  Korea has reached a point of development, and success, where we have all the tools and resources we need to lead on the international scene, but we far too often look inward.  If Korea is to be a great nation, we must show a greatness of heart, of generosity.  Our material success must be shared with others less fortunate, even in the most remote places around the world.

We are also called upon to show greater understanding -- that the world we live in is highly interdependent and that our interests are deeply interconnected with all others.  We cannot stand alone.

We must also show a greatness of vision -- about the biggest challenges of our time, and what we Koreans can do to address them.

Great nations, great peoples, must not only adapt to new circumstances, they must shape them.  I am confident we can.  Indeed, I feel we Koreans have a profound responsibility to do so, to help address the many grave and gathering challenges confronting our world.

So today I would like to focus on where I believe the Republic of Korea can and should play a dramatically enhanced role in the months and years to come.

This year we pass the halfway point in the race to reach the Millennium Development Goals, the vision adopted by all the world’s Governments for building a better world in the twenty-first century.  Some progress has been made, but many countries remain off track -- particularly in Africa -- to reach the poverty reduction, health, education, and environmental goals by 2015.

Countries must design their own plans and mobilize their own resources, but they cannot do this alone.  Just as the Republic of Korea was helped by other countries during our development process, so too must we now help others.

But my friends, Korea is not doing what it must.  Personally, I am ashamed that Korea ranks last, dead last, among the OECD countries in providing official development assistance.  This is not befitting a great country.  We must do more, much more, commensurate with our national economic power.  And now, as the first Korean Secretary-General of the United Nations leads the global effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, now is the perfect time for Korea to make its move.  Work with me.  The world looks to Korea to step up to this challenge.

One particular area on which Korea could focus is global health needs.  The world has proven in the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis that we can make progress.  But we have to take our efforts to the next level on each of these challenges, as well as address maternal health -- the weakest performing Millennium Development Goals -- and scale up efforts to combat neglected tropical diseases.  Korea has great medical capacity, and has a proven ability to be innovative.  The Republic of Korea was one of the first countries to implement an airline ticket solidarity fee to provide innovative financing for global health efforts.  This kind of leadership should be deepened and broadened.

Second, Korea must do more to help secure the peace in a dangerous world.  Gone are the days when we could afford to focus solely on our own peninsula, thinking that that was our only concern.  The Republic of Korea was saved by concerted action through the United Nations.  Now it is our turn to reciprocate.

Brave Korean men and women have served honourably in peacekeeping around the world.  Yesterday, I was honoured to meet with a very impressive group of Korean peacekeepers from the current United Nations Mission in Lebanon.  They make me proud and their service should make every Korean proud.

But Korea can do more.  Indeed, it must.  The United Nations is facing a serious shortage of peacekeepers, especially specialized units and specialized capabilities.  The Republic of Korea has one of the most capable militaries on the planet.  Korea must do more with it.  Deploying Korean peacekeepers in other parts of the world will not only help people in need and provide the United Nations with needed muscle, it will also benefit Korea by further developing the Korean military’s experience in important areas, as well as enhancing Korea’s international profile.

We must remember there is always danger, but our soldiers are willing and able to face it.

Korea can also do much more to help secure a peaceful world by providing support for the efforts of the United Nations in the area of preventive diplomacy.

Third, Korea can and must do more to address the defining challenge of our time -- climate change.  In the last 18 months I have seen melting glaciers in Antarctica, disappearing rainforests in South America, desertification in Africa, and increasing extreme weather events around the globe, including the recent devastating cyclone in Myanmar.  The signs are everywhere, and no place is immune.  Sea level rise and extreme weather threaten the Korean Peninsula.  And the situation will get worse, much worse, if we do not act.  We have no time to spare.

Beyond undeniable self-interest, fighting climate change also raises equitable and ethical imperatives.  Nearly all the emissions that are driving this phenomenon can be traced back to industrialized, and increasingly to middle-income, countries and emerging economies.  Yet the primary burden of climate change is being borne by people in the least developed and lower-latitude countries.

This is why countries with strong economies and increasing emissions profiles like the Republic of Korea, bear a particularly high responsibility.

And our country is very well placed to lead.  We have an incredible record of growth and integration into the world economy due in part to advances in less energy-intensive industries.  Our experience and know-how can prove invaluable to other developing countries who seek a low-carbon path to economic development.

The Republic of Korea can also help bridge the climate divide between developing countries and the highly industrialized world.

The United Nations is the universal forum in which a new climate change agreement must be negotiated by the end of next year.  I count on Korea to play an important role in securing a final agreement in Copenhagen.

To play a lead role in both the negotiation and in implementing any agreement, the Republic of Korea will need to get its own house in order.  Korea’s leadership role would be bolstered by a credible national plan for emissions limitation that is commensurate with Korea’s level of economic development.  Any such plan should also include an adaptation strategy.

To meet the great challenges facing our world, we need great nations.  By showing leadership Korea can prove it is a great nation, and it will be recognized as such on the international stage.  It is too successful, too creative and too crucial within the international community to sit on the sidelines as the world confronts seminal challenges like achieving the Millennium Development Goals, securing peace around the globe, and saving our planet and all people on it from climate change.

I would see a major role for Korea in all this, as my advisers do, even if I weren’t Korean.  But I am Korean.  Seeing my country take the lead in these efforts is a burning personal desire.  I hope you share both this sense of responsibility and possibility with me.

Yesterday, these official and personal priorities came together in an encounter with one of our newest national heroes, Yi So-yeon.  During our meeting, Yi presented me with a United Nations flag that she took with her into space while serving on the International Space Station.

The image of a fellow Korean carrying the United Nations standard quite literally to the highest point it has ever gone fills me with profound pride.  This act, by one brave Korean crossing new frontiers, working together with people of many nations, symbolizes the high hopes all of us have for a global Korea.  As a nation we must, of course, continue to reach for the stars.  And, like Dr. Yi, we must take action and make sure that we carry the hopes and dreams of all humanity with us.  If we do, Korea will prove that it is indeed the great nation that I believe it is.

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