President Lee Jae-myung, on a state visit to Türkiye, held a roundtable to meet with local Koreans and hear their concerns. Lee said, "Today I will give you the opportunity to say everything you want. It's fine even if you criticize Lee Jae-myung," signaling his intention to hold a free discussion.
On the 25th (local time), Lee met with 140 local Koreans through a roundtable held at a hotel in downtown Ankara, Türkiye. Conversations with overseas Koreans are usually conducted behind closed doors after the opening remarks. However, the event that day took the form of an "impromptu town hall meeting" open to the media. After his opening remarks, Lee said, "It's fine for journalists to come back into the venue as well."
In his encouragement speech, Lee first said, "Türkiye and the Republic of Korea have a special relationship, and we plan to rely on each other and cooperate as we move forward together," adding, "Overseas Koreans are serving as that bridge. Overseas Koreans are a face of the Republic of Korea more important than an ambassador."
He went on, "The Republic of Korea has a population of 52 million, and including overseas Koreans it is 60 million," adding, "Isn't each and every citizen an owner of Korea, and each individual's voice matters."
After Lee proposed an open roundtable, a variety of comments from local Koreans followed. One participant introduced himself as the "chair of the Korean War Veterans Memorial Project Association," and said, "About 890 veterans are missing. I would like them to receive decorations and certificates of commendation the same as those who survived and returned." The participant also said discussions are underway to build a memorial space for war veterans in Istanbul and asked for diplomatic efforts so the project can move forward smoothly.
Lee responded, "I ask the embassy to make sure the memorial space is properly established." He added, "Please coordinate with the home government and the Turkish government," and said, "Please review whether the home country can support construction expenses and other expense items." He also explained, "I have issued special instructions to the Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs regarding (expanded support for) those killed in action."
In addition, the local Koreans offered opinions such as: ▲ the difficulty with a rule that if a Korean who entered on a marriage visa loses a spouse to death or divorce, they must leave Türkiye within 15 days ▲ the need to make the work visa issuance process for instructors easier as demand for learning Korean is growing.
Lee said, "In the case of visa systems, since (Türkiye) applies the same system to all countries, it is not easy to change the system specifically for Korean expatriates," but added, "As it happens, the Turkish president said, 'The Republic of Korea is a brother nation,' so I will ask that an exception be considered."
Lee concluded, "The Republic of Korea is changing from 'a country to worry about' to 'a reassuring country not to worry about,'" emphasizing, "We will make sure it is not you who worry about the country, but the Republic of Korea that worries about you and becomes a reliable supporter."