Yoon and Kim visit UN Memorial Park and UN Peace Memorial

President Yoon and First Lady Kim visited the memorial tower at the United Nations Memorial Park in Busan on Thursday afternoon, July 27, and paid tribute to the fallen soldiers of the United Nations Armed Forces. After writing in the guest book that "the sacrifice and dedication of United Nations veterans is a cornerstone of our country's freedom and prosperity," they joined Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and New Zealand Governor-General Dem Cindy Kiro to pay their respective respects to the Luxembourg flag and New Zealand monument in the memorial's symbolic area. Yoon said "It was here that UN troops from Luxembourg, New Zealand, and other countries came in and fought against the communists who invaded Korea. Busan was the temporary capital during the war, and the National University of Korea created a wartime allied university here to continue higher education." Along with the entire United Nations military delegation, they laid a wreath and observed a moment of silence at the tower to honor the sacrifices of those who have given their lives for the cause of world peace. This is the first time a sitting president has visited and paid tribute to the UNFPA. Luca Viscapi, son of the New Zealand Ambassador to the United Nations, was in attendance and played Amazing grace, an iconic American hymn, on the bagpipes, adding to the memorial atmosphere. Upon arrival at the UN Peace Memorial, Yoon wrote in the guest book, "Strong international solidarity for freedom and peace in the world," and was guided by Kim Kwang-woo, Director of the UN Peace Memorial, through the special exhibition on the Canadian military's participation in the Korean War and the UN War Memorial, which commemorates the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Canada and Korea.

Yoon inspects areas affected by heavy rains

On Tuesday afternoon, July 18, Yoon traveled to Tancheon-myeon, Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do, and then Seongdong-myeon, Nonsan-si, to visit watermelon farmers and nurseries affected by the floods. Baek Sung-hyeon, Mayor of Nonsan, reported the situation to the president, saying, "This area is a lowland adjacent to Nonsancheon and Geumgangcheon, and the watermelon greenhouse was completely submerged because the nearby bank collapsed." When the president went into the greenhouse and touched the submerged watermelon and asked, "Can you harvest this?" Mayor Baek replied, "It seems difficult," and Chungnam Governor Kim Tae-heum said, "About 80 percent of watermelon farms in this area are covered by insurance. However, the rest of the farmhouses who are not insured are very worried,” he expressed regret. The vinyl house visited next was full of seedlings that had grown up or withered because the water was filled to the height of an adult man's chest. Residents said with tears in their eyes, "The seedlings should be small, but they have grown tall like bean sprouts. We don't know what to do." Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Jeong Hwang-geun explained to the president, "We can't use seedlings that have fallen into water." The president comforted the residents, saying, "Don't worry too much. The government will help you to restore everything. The government has been saving money so far to spend money at this time," and the residents expressed their gratitude to the president.