Lee's inauguration to draw 180 foreign dignitaries

South Korean president-elect, Lee Myung-bak, celebrating his election victory.

Date: February 13, 2008
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and about 180 other foreign dignitaries are to attend President-elect Lee Myung-bak’s inaugural ceremony on Feb. 25, officials at Lee’s transition team said Wednesday (Feb. 13).
Lee’s inaugural ceremony is to take place in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, central Seoul, at 11 a.m., with a total of 45,000 guests, including 25,000 ordinary citizens, foreign tourists and executives of foreign-invested firms in Korea on hand.
The unprecedented invitation of ordinary expatriate citizens appears to be related to Lee’s bid to help revitalize the sluggish Korean economy with the help of foreign investments.
Among the participants are Japan’s Fukuda, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar and Uzbek President Islam Karimov.
Fukuda expressed his intention to personally congratulate Lee on his inauguration shortly after he was elected in December. Lee served as an economic policy advisor to the Cambodian leader in 2000.
Washington will send Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Seoul, while Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan will represent the Chinese government, said the officials. Russian Prime Minister Victor Zubkov will also attend the inauguration ceremony, they added.
Besides the top-ranking leaders, almost all foreign ambassadors stationed in Seoul will attend the ceremony. The inauguration of President Roh Moo-hyun drew about 100 foreign dignitaries in 2003.
Other renowned foreigners include Evans Revere, chairman of the U.S.-based Korea Society, former U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry, former Japanese Prime Ministers Nakasone Yasuhiro and Mori Yoshiro, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov and Ankara Mayor Melih Gokcek, said the officials.
North Korea is unlikely to send a delegation, while U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who wanted to attend the ceremony, eventually canceled his proposed trip because of his tight schedule.