Rejected the previous offer to participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine
“There is absolutely no plan” in a report on a visit to Ukraine in July
“How would you do that to a country at war?”
President Yun Seok-yeol, who is visiting Japan as an observer of the G7 summit, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who unexpectedly attended the G7 summit, shake hands during the extended session of the G7 summit held at the Grand Hotel Prince in Hiroshima on the 21st. 2023.5.21 joint comment
It was reported on the 26th that President Yoon Seok-yeol rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s suggestion at a recent summit meeting that South Korea should express its intention to participate in the reconstruction project first, saying, “How would you that for a country at war?”
President Yoon mentioned this in relation to the Korea-Ukraine summit held on the occasion of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan on the 21st in a recent closed-door meeting with presidential office staff, multiple presidential office officials reported.
President Yoon said that he received advice from then President Zelensky about the need to first express his intention to participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine before his first summit. That’s why I didn’t talk about it first.”
“Participating in the reconstruction of Ukraine, first mentioned by Zelensky in Hiroshima”
President Yoon Seok-yeol (first from right) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (second from left) attend a bilateral meeting held separately from the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan on the 21st. President Zelensky expressed his appreciation for South Korea’s humanitarian and non-lethal (equipment) assistance at the meeting that day. 2023.05.21 Yonhap News
According to officials in the presidential office and Yonhap News, the issue of Korea’s participation in reconstruction was discussed at the Hiroshima summit when President Zelensky first mentioned it.
“The two leaders agreed on the need for cooperation between the two countries for the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war, and agreed to continue providing necessary assistance so that excellent Korean companies can participate in the reconstruction project and contribute to a quick recovery after the war,” the presidential office said in a written briefing by Speaker Lee Do-woon after the meeting.
The reconstruction project in Ukraine, which restores buildings, railways, roads, and military facilities destroyed by the Russian military attack in the last year, is expected to reach a scale of about 1,200 trillion won.
The movement of the international community to take part in the project, dubbed the ‘Second Marshall Plan’, is also gathering pace.
On the other hand, President Yoon again mentioned that comments criticizing President Zelensky in relation to the start of the war in Ukraine were made in the passport during the previous Moon Jae-in administration, and he was reported to have criticized them to impact “are those comments helpful to our national interest?” .
Previously, in a televised debate on February 25 last year, when he was a presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myeong, representative of the Democratic Party, said, “A new 6-month-old politician became president and declared to join the North Atlantic Treaty. Organization (NATO), provoking Russia, and ultimately conflict.” have spoken
Reporter Kwon Yoon-hee
