The President’s Office announced on the 30th that President Yoon Seok-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida jointly received the ‘2023 People of Courage Award’ awarded by the John F. Kennedy (JFK) Foundation of the United States.
Ambassador to the United States Cho Hyun-dong attended the awards ceremony held at the JFK Foundation Library and Museum in Boston on the 29th (local time).
President Yoon shared his thoughts on receiving the award through a video and said, “I have admired President Kennedy since I was a high school student while studying English through his inauguration speech and West Berlin speech.”
He said, “President Kennedy’s insight that reform and innovation cannot occur without courage was a great lesson to me,” and added, “I am personally honored to receive an award that symbolizes his New Frontier spirit.”
President Yoon, who said he was happy to receive the award together with Prime Minister Kishida, said, “I feel a great sense of responsibility to contribute to world freedom, peace, and prosperity through the strong solidarity between Korea, the United States, and Japan.”
Last September, during President Yoon’s visit to New York, the JFK Foundation selected President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida as special international recipients of this year’s ‘People of Courage Award’.
At the time, the JFK Foundation said the reason for the award was, “He is doing the difficult work of reconciliation for a more peaceful world, and has demonstrated his commitment to democracy at a time when courage is needed.”
The ‘Courageous People Award’ is an award given by the JFK Foundation every year since 1990 to politicians and officials who have demonstrated politically courageous leadership.
It is named after former President John F. Kennedy’s book, ‘Men of Courage.’
Past recipients include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last year, President Barack Obama (2017), President George W. Bush (2014), and United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan (2002).
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.