President Lee Jae Myung claps as he attends a meeting at the presidential office in central Seoul on Aug. 13, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will hold a ceremony this week commemorating President Lee Jae Myung’s recent election and the 80th anniversary of Liberation Day, the interior ministry said Wednesday.
The special ceremony symbolizing Lee’s appointment by the people will take place at Gwanghwamun Square in downtown Seoul on Friday in a bid to promote national unity as the country marks the landmark anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule, according to the ministry.
The “People’s Appointment Ceremony” comes as Lee did not have a formal inauguration ceremony as he took office immediately after winning the June 3 presidential election triggered by the ouster of former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The ceremony is set to be attended by more than 3,500 people, including Go master Lee Se-dol, football coach Park Hang-seo — a member of South Korea’s coaching staff in the 2002 World Cup — and a couple who gave birth to quintuplets conceived naturally for the first time in Korea.
Former presidents have been invited to the event, with the exception of Yoon, who remains in custody on charges related to his failed martial law bid. Former conservative Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, however, have conveyed that they will not attend the event, citing health reasons.
(Yonhap)
