President Lee Jae-myung proposes 'solidarity of constructive contributing countries' to resolve Strait of Hormuz crisis at UN General Assembly

In his keynote speech at the United Nations General Assembly on the 22nd (local time), President Lee Jae-myung proposed 'solidarity with constructive contributing countries' as a solution to the global supply chain crisis caused by the war between the United States and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz.

In his keynote speech at the 81st United Nations General Assembly held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA, President Lee mentioned 'solidarity for the global energy supply chain' as one of the three pillars of the 'K Initiative' and presented a new international solidarity plan centered on supply chain cooperation.

It emphasizes the restoration of multilateralism in the face of the new global security and economic crisis of the Iran war, and is interpreted as an extension of President Lee's diplomatic strategy based on the principle of pragmatism.

In particular, it is noteworthy that, amid growing pressure from the United States to dispatch troops to the Strait of Hormuz, he has repeatedly stated to the international community that solutions to the Iran war, including supply chain issues that are causing economic shock to each country, must be found through a multilateral approach.

President Lee has emphasized that in order to normalize the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and guarantee freedom of passage for ships, the problem must be resolved through multilateral solidarity involving the international community.

President Lee emphasized that day, “We cannot sit back and wait until all countries agree on a single solution,” highlighting the urgency and inevitability of new multilateral consultations to resolve the Iran war.

It can also be said that today's constructive contribution country solidarity initiative embodies President Lee's promise to make practical contributions to the future normalization of the Strait of Hormuz at the international summit for free passage through the Strait of Hormuz last April.

France and the United Kingdom have led discussions on the idea of ​​a 'multinational mission' involving the international community since the beginning of the Iran war, and Korea has also participated and voiced the need for multilateral cooperation.

The solidarity of constructive contributing countries proposed by President Lee is analyzed to be closer to the model of a multilateral security and economic consultative body that is not limited to the military and security sectors and allows for the participation of a wider range of countries through the global supply chain.

Regarding this, President Lee explained, "This is not about creating a new exclusive organization or exclusive group. The idea is to respect the existing international order and the functions of the United Nations, while cooperating in an open manner in areas where each country has strengths and gradually expanding the scope."

Rather than a confrontational model in which political, military, or geopolitical 'blocks' are formed and operated in a closed manner, the idea is to produce practical results by operating a coalition in a more flexible manner centered on the common economic interest of supply chain stability.

It can also be seen as containing President Lee's will to emerge as a globally responsible power by highlighting the presence of middle power diplomacy as a provider of 'global public goods'.

In his speech, President Lee promised, "We will further strengthen cooperation in the energy supply chain to prevent the supply chain crisis from spreading into a global economic and livelihood crisis."

However, the challenge is that a specific strategy must be followed to differentiate it from the United Nations, which acts as a representative of the international multilateral consultative body, the multinational mission related to the Hormuz crisis led by France and the United Kingdom, and various economic cooperation coalitions.

Meanwhile, President Lee, who was making his second speech at the United Nations General Assembly since last year, stood on the podium at the conference hall at 3:43 p.m. that day, wearing a dark blue suit and wearing a Taegeukgi badge on his lapel.

President Lee wore a dark green and white diagonal pattern tie that day.

The Blue House explained that the green tie, which symbolizes balance, harmony, and peace with countries around the world, is worn to convey the will to spread a message of hope and positivity to each country.

In his speech, President Lee mentioned 'Republic of Korea' 20 times, 'peace' 17 times, 'Korean Peninsula' 14 times, 'international community' 12 times, 'cooperation' 11 times, 'solidarity' 10 times, 'future' 10 times, and 'artificial intelligence' (AI) about 9 times.

When President Lee's speech, which lasted about 17 minutes, ended, applause broke out in the conference hall.

President Lee's spouse, First Lady Kim Hye-kyung, also watched President Lee's speech at the event.