Lee Jung-geun, president of the Korea Senior Citizens Association./Photo: Korea Policy Broadcasting
Korea Senior Citizens Association marks Parents’ Day…Lee Jung-geun urges renewed commitment to intergenerational respect and coexistence
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[By Joo Hyun-tae, Korea Financial News] The 54th Parents’ Day ceremony was held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s international conference hall in Jung-gu, Seoul. President Lee Jae-myung and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung attended in person to honor recipients recognized for filial devotion and the parents of police and firefighters who died in the line of duty.
According to Booyoung Group, the Parents’ Day ceremony took place on the 8th, hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and organized by the Korea Senior Citizens Association. The presidential couple attended in person. About 230 people participated, including Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik; Senior Presidential Secretary for Social Affairs Moon Jin-young; Deputy Spokesperson An Gwi-ryeong; Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Eun-gyeong; Lee Jung-geun, president of the Korea Senior Citizens Association; Jeong Chung-rae of the Democratic Party; Lee Jong-chan, president of the Liberation Association; Jeong Dae-cheol, chair of the National Memorial Association; and leaders of city and provincial federations nationwide.
This year’s ceremony carried the theme, “Parents! With the wings of that love, we bloomed the flower called ‘Us’.” The program honored the sacrifices and devotion of the parental generation and sought to promote a culture of intergenerational unity.
◇ Awards for exemplary filial devotion; parents of fallen public servants invited
This year the government presented awards to 22 individuals recognized for exemplary filial piety. Honors included one Order of Civil Merit, one National Medal, 10 Presidential Commendations and 10 Prime Minister’s Commendations.
President Lee personally presented awards to six recipients, including the Order of Civil Merit and several Presidential Commendation winners. Park Jae-du, who received the Order of Civil Merit, cared for his mother—who had lost a leg—with devoted attention despite severe financial hardship. After his mother’s death he visited her grave every day for more than 40 years and later founded the Donghae Confucianism College, which provides filial-piety education to roughly 5,000 people annually.
Kim Young-an, a National Medal recipient, has long cared for his mother, who became disabled after an accident, for 26 years while also supporting a wife with intellectual disabilities and a child with autism, despite his own physical disability.
The ceremony also invited the parents of police officers and firefighters who died in the line of duty at fire scenes in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, and Gimje, North Jeolla Province. The presidential couple pinned carnations on the parents and offered their condolences.
◇ Expanding integrated care and senior employment
The government plans to continue expanding senior welfare policies. Through the community-based integrated care system, which began nationwide implementation in March, seniors will be able to receive coordinated care, medical, and nursing services while remaining in their communities.
Officials plan to expand senior employment programs to about 1.15 million positions, revise the National Pension’s income-reduction rules for beneficiaries who work, and pilot a dementia-safe asset management service.
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Lee Jung-geunView all articles The Korea Senior Citizens Association president said, “Today’s South Korea stands on the sacrifices and devotion of the parental generation that led industrialization and national development. We are all children of our parents and parents of another generation.” He added, “Parents’ Day should be more than a day of gratitude; it should be a moment to reaffirm the values of intergenerational respect and coexistence. I hope we move toward a warmer society that understands and cares for one another.”
Joo Hyun-tae, Korea Financial News (gun1313@fntimes.com)
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