S. Korean president vows to build peace community on Korean Peninsula

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South Korean President Moon Jae-in vowed Thursday to build a peace community of co-existence and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula this year.

Moon made the remarks during a New Year's event at the headquarters in Seoul of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), a major local business lobby group, according to the presidential Blue House.

"With our people's aspiration for peace on the Korean Peninsula, (the government) will build a peace community of co-existence and prosperity," said Moon.

Moon noted that the leaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States maintained their willingness for dialogue, while the South Korean government gradually moved toward the peninsula peace last year in coordination with the international community.

He stressed that peace would not come without "action," pledging to continue efforts for a wider "room to maneuver" in relations between the two Koreas.

Regarding domestic affairs, Moon vowed a "clear change" this year in the South Korean society based on the reform of agencies of power and the building of a fair society.

In South Korea, the agencies of power refer to the prosecution service, the police, the state intelligence agency and the national tax service.

"No agency of power can stand above people," said Moon who pledged that he will never stop legal and institutional reforms until the power institutions gain the trust of people.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)