Lee Joong-keun, chairman of the United Nations Association of the Republic of Korea and of Booyoung Group, called for designating U.N. Day as a national holiday in South Korea, pledging to build and donate a facility in Seoul comparable to U.N. headquarters in New York if the designation is made.
Lee made the remarks in an opening address at the 81st U.N. Day ceremony held on the 23rd at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Seoul. "Designating U.N. Day as a national holiday would express the Republic of Korea's commitment to playing a pivotal role in world peace and development as a global leader," he said.
"I hope the donated building will host various U.N. agencies, creating a historic turning point for the Republic of Korea to emerge as a central pillar leading peace and prosperity in the international community," he added.
About 350 people attended the event, co-hosted by the United Nations Association of the Republic of Korea and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Lee Jong-chan, president of the Heritage of Korean Independence. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon delivered congratulatory messages by video.
U.N. Day marks the founding of the United Nations on Oct. 24, 1945, and was a statutory public holiday in South Korea until 1975. Lee has pushed for the designation on a continuing basis, including delivering to the National Assembly in September last year a petition signed by 420,000 citizens supporting the move.
Separately, Lee, the founder of Booyoung Group, has a net worth of about $1.1 billion, or roughly 1.4581 trillion won, according to the real-time billionaires list compiled by U.S. business magazine Forbes.