President Lee Jae-myung's first visit to the Busan National Sports Festival asks the people to convey historical meaning and true value of sports to the people beyond simple games
Oct 17, 2025
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President Lee Jae-myung attended the opening ceremony of the 106th Busan National Sports Festival and preached the historical meaning of the National Sports Festival and the value of sports that resonate with hope and emotion.
President Lee attended the opening ceremony of the Busan National Sports Festival held at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium at 6 p.m. on the 17th with first lady Kim Hye-kyung. This is the first time that President Lee, who began his first term as the 21st president on June 4, has appeared at a sports event, drawing keen attention from sportsmen to the president's first visit to the sports event.
The opening ceremony was attended by more than 30,000 guests, including President Lee and his wife, Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young, Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin, Korean Sports Council President Yoo Seung Min, Busan Metropolitan City Mayor Park Hyung-joon, Busan Metropolitan City Superintendent Kim Seok-joon, Busan Metropolitan City Sports Council President Jang In-hwa, and 17 city and provincial governments, 18 sports organizations, and volunteers.
'My stomach is coming in. President Lee and his wife, who entered immediately after the opening performance under the theme of 'Busan', welcomed the ceremony for the Korean athletes in 17 cities and provinces, waving their hands side by side with Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young and Chairman of the Korean Sports Council Yoo Seung Min. President Lee took the stage for the commemorative speech after the opening remarks of Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young and the opening remarks of Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon and the president of the Korea Sports Council Yoo Seung Min.
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President Lee said, `It is already overwhelming to see our players who will pour out their skills that they have honed so far. As always, you are all champions. "All of you who have been sweating over patience and passion in your respective positions are already the winners," he said. "As such, I believe that the athletes will show great hope and emotion to the Korean people by showing the true value of sports while respecting and solidarity with each other." In particular, President Lee delivered a special message to athletes from overseas sports organizations who visited their country to participate in sports events in 18 countries. "We would like to express our special gratitude and welcome to the athletes of the overseas Korean organizations of 18 countries who visited their homeland with a heart of excitement."I am infinitely proud to be with each and every member of the team who is expanding the status of the Republic of Korea in the world without forgetting the identity of the Korean people."Your participation will remain deeply proud of all of our people."
President Lee then emphasized the historical significance and content value of the 106th National Sports Festival. My fellow Koreans, this year's 106th National Sports Festival is not just a sports event, but it has a special meaning in our history"I hope this national sports festival can be a sports festival that everyone enjoys together. We ask for your enthusiastic support and encouragement from the people. Once again, I sincerely congratulate the 106th National Sports Festival with the whole nation.."
He also did not forget his message to the citizens of Busan, the venue. "We hope that with this competition, Busan, a global hub city, will be able to leap forward as a global sports and cultural city." The government will also actively support Busan to make a new leap forwardThe words " were followed by applause from the citizens of Busan. Mayor Park Hyung-joon and Busan citizens are working hard to regain the glory of Busan, the second capital. We will do our best to ensure that the whole country can grow and develop in a balanced way so that the efforts will not be in vain"I promised.
President Lee is a leader who knows the value of sports well. Shortly after the dissolution of Seongnam Ilhwa, a professional soccer team, in 2013, when he was mayor of Seongnam, he founded Seongnam FC, a civic team, and served as the owner of the team. At a time when local governments were reluctant to establish the company, they made a decision after actively communicating with supporters. In 2016, then-Mayor Yeom Tae-young created the 'flag derby' with Suwon FC, which was the owner of the team, drawing attention. During his time as governor of Gyeonggi-do, he implemented a policy to provide a total of 2.5 billion won to five civic professional football teams in the province for the first time in the country, and as the governor of Gyeonggi-do Province, he works as the chairman of the Gyeonggi-do Provincial Sports Council for the Disabled and has a strong perception of "everyone's sport". It is a local government with the largest number of elementary, middle and high school student athletes (3898 as of June 2025) among 17 cities and provinces, and is the heart of Korean sports, competing for the first place in the overall East Summer National Sports Festival and Boys' Sports Festival every year. President Lee is a political leader who knows and experiences the positive function of sports values and social integration. The athlete's morale was high at the leader's first visit to the athletic competition.
Meanwhile, this competition, which will be held in Busan for the first time in 25 years since 2000, will be held in Busan from the 17th to the 23rd under the vision of 「Korea as one in the global hub city of Busan」, with a total of 30,306 athletes (28,791 from the city and 1515 from overseas Korean sports organizations) and 50 sports teams participating in 77 stadiums, including the Busan Asiad Stadium.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
