President Yoon Suk-yeol agreed to co-host the second Democracy Summit with the US President Biden on March 29-30, the presidential office said Tuesday.
The US, which held the first Democracy Summit virtually in December 2021, decided to co-host the second summit with South Korea, the Netherlands, Zambia and Costa Rica.
The Korean government will preside over the Indo-Pacific regional meeting of the summit -- which will again be held virtually -- with the topic of anti-corruption.
“By co-hosting the second Democracy Summit, as a leading democratic country in the region, we plan to share our democratization experience and anti-corruption efforts with the international community and use this as an opportunity to continuously expand the horizon of value diplomacy,” the presidential office said.
The summit's joint statement said, “Together with other invitees to the second Summit, we look forward to taking up this call, and demonstrating how transparent, accountable governance remains the best way to deliver lasting prosperity, peace and justice.”
“Together, we will showcase progress made by Summit partners on commitments during the Year of Action, and will reaffirm the vitality of the democratic model and collective action to meet the unprecedented challenges of our time,” it added.
The first Democracy Summit was held in December last year and hosted by US President Joe Biden.
The summit was attended by more than 100 leaders of countries allied with the US, including the UK, Australia, Japan and India. During the two-day virtual meeting attended by former President Moon Jae-in, countries shared opinions on how to guard against authoritarianism, eradicate corruption and promote respect for human rights. China and Russia were excluded.
