GO, ROH, GO!

Roh Lauds European-Style Economic Models (Ryu Jin, Korea Times, December, 6th, 2004)

President Roh Moo-hyun displayed a special feeling of intimacy with France, the home of civil revolution, praising the social solidarity and tolerance of French society as well as European-style economic models.

While meeting some 350 representatives from the Korean community in France at a Paris hotel, Roh also tried to encourage the Korean residents, explaining the political and economic policies he is pursuing at home.

A former self-taught human rights lawyer on his first visit to France, he first praised the French Revolution, describing it as one of the most splendid achievements in human history, as it attempted to end unequal relationships between individuals.

Roh went on to express his commitment to building a Northeast Asian community like the European Union after achieving peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and ultimately the reunification of the two Koreas.

“And now we need another invention,” he told the audience. “A new order should replace the current one in which some nations rule and dominate others.”

He said he had a special interest in the development of the EU, which he suggested should be followed by the Northeast Asian region.

It’s pretty hard to think of anything that would kill any threat from North Korea or China as effectively as a North Asian community modeled on the EU.