In a written congratulatory message to a conference in Washington, D.C. on Thursday hosted by the Korean American Public Action Committee (KAPAC), Lee said his administration has consistently pursued policies aimed at promoting peace on the peninsula since taking office in June last year, while also seeking ways to lay the groundwork for reunification with the North.
"Trust must be restored for a peaceful Korean Peninsula, and to achieve that, dialogue between the two Koreas and between the U.S. and North Korea must resume," Lee said.
He reiterated that his administration respects North Korea's political system and has no intention of engaging in hostile acts and believes reunification should not come through either side absorbing the other.
"The best security policy is to build a situation in which there is no need to fight," he said. "Peace is the foundation for protecting people's safety, stabilizing livelihoods and achieving economic development."
Lee also urged overseas South Koreans to support these peace efforts, asking them to help raise international awareness of the need to resume dialogue with North Korea.
"Our government will continue to communicate closely with the U.S. and other neighboring countries and make every effort to reopen the door to dialogue," he said.
The message raised eyebrows as it was read by visiting Rep. Song Young-gil of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), in an unusual move since such messages are typically delivered by government officials.
That also drew attention given that Song is widely expected to run in the party's leadership race in August, where he is likely to face former party leader Jung Chung-rae and Prime Minister Kim Min-seok.
It came just a day after veteran DP lawmaker Park Jie-won said on a radio program that Song told him in a phone call, "When I met [Lee] at the presidential residence on June 18, we discussed the party convention. I said I would run in a three-way race, later merge with [Kim], and produce a result in which support would coalesce in the runoff."
Meanwhile, Lee is expected to announce plans next week for major economic projects that would inject public and private investment into key future industries such as artificial intelligence, robotics and semiconductors.
But Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), has accused Lee of trying to sway the DP's leadership race by taking advantage of the projects, pointing out that he has already handpicked South Jeolla Province as the main site in a bid to woo voters in a region widely regarded as the DP's traditional stronghold.
The southwestern region has about 510,000 of the DP's estimated 1.5 million party members, accounting for more than one-third of the total.
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