Greetings, participants.

Thank you for joining this peace event. Together with you, I want to think about peace and develop it further so that a world of peace will come as soon as possible. Not long ago, I went on a global tour and called for peace. Now, such peace would grow to bear fruit. I believe it will.

Whichever country it is, wouldn’t it be wonderful if the world is renewed and becomes a peaceful place free of sins, disputes, and conflicts? I believe it will be. The world has been suffering from thousands of year-long wars and pain to date. If this world was created by the one who has the power to create all creation, including people and heaven and earth, why would he make all creation live in pain? I am sure many would have given some thought to this question. I also did. However, I came to learn much more in the religious world.

Whether The world becomes a place of peace or war depends on which direction people head into. I mentioned that I went on world peace tours 32 times. Not a single person rejected peace. Everyone wanted peace. However, simply wanting it does not mean it will come true. As no one says no to peace, we should work toward peace and strive for it.

Only then, can peace be established. Even if the heavens and the earth call for peace, it does not mean peace is established by itself. When all the people hope for peace and pour in efforts together, peace can be truly achieved. This is what I have believed.

I believe peace starts from home. Children need to be educated well at home, and secondly, peace education should be taught well in schools. If we can instill the value of peace deep into students so that it forms the basis of their minds and hearts, we will move toward peace. Being reckless and causing anxious situations and fights will not lead to peace.

The world is filled with wrongdoings where people fight each other, but this is not what peace is about. Peace cannot be achieved by one person practicing peace. If the entire humanity becomes peace and lives together as one in kindness, then there would be no more war and conflict, right? Indeed. In order to do that, we need love. Just as the saying that you should love others as yourself, when we love each other, there would no more war. This is how we should live. We should no longer live as two but as one. Truly this would be wonderful and great.

Today, we have the members of the International Law Peace Committee (ILPC) here. Why are we trying to work on international law for peace? If current international law is perfect, there would be no need. I heard that the UN was established for peace. How remarkable would peace be without war? However, with current international law, this has not been achieved.

One of the UN Security Council’s permanent members, Russia, led to a war in Ukraine. It was none other than a permanent member of the UN Security Council that caused the war. As flaws are evident, we are striving for renewal.

What did the members of the ILPC establish? They drafted the 10 articles and 38 clauses of the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) to end and prevent wars from taking place. Since the declaration has been drafted, the next step is to practice it.

Although the 10 articles and 38 clauses of the DPCW have been drafted, due to COVID-19, we were held indoors. However, nowadays, we are not hearing the word COVID-19 as often and it seems the situation has improved. Since the DPCW has been drafted, should it be left abandoned? We should make known the DPCW globally so that the existing and the new proposal would be compared in terms of international law. Then, we should practice what is better, whichever is better.

This will not only impact others but those who drafted it as well, so it should be reviewed more and be submitted to the UN for adoption. What would the UN do afterward? They will put it to a vote, and once they say OK to it and adopt it, it will be implemented.

This cannot be achieved by a person simply thinking about it. We should make right the flaws and seek improvements. The main focus of the DPCW is on ceasing wars and achieving peace—ending wars and building peace. When wars break out, the lives of the young youth are lost. Why should this happen?

I also served as a war veteran on the frontlines of the fratricidal battlefields of the Korean War. I experience many things then. When there is a war, you are bombarded by artillery both from your side and that of the enemy. Not even plants survive these attacks as artillery pours shells relentlessly on where you stand. Amid all these, people shout and try to move desperately for life. It is not about fighting the enemies but fighting against the shells. At a place where no life can live, how would people survive?

I experienced these not once or twice but many times as I fought on the frontlines as a war veteran. When we retreat, who waits for you with food? When you march on, who follows you and brings you food? More people die from starvation than from battles. This is what war does. When young people are pushed onto the battlefields, how many die? I even had an event held at the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan. Those who lay there fought next to me on the battlefields. I said to the people there, ask them what war is like. So we had an assembly there.

 Of course, a country would have gone to war to protect the country and the people. However, does this have to be done through war? We could talk it out and that is why we have international law as well. Each country has its law, but there is international law as well. We can utilize these to resolve situations rather than having youth get killed in wars. If those who start the wars are told to go to the battlefields and fight, they would not want to start wars.

Hence, we need to end wars and build a peaceful world to leave it as a lasting legacy to future generations. Who should? We, the people of today, should. Thus, let us become messengers of peace and make the world a peaceful place. Everyone, let us do this work. What would be loving our children? Leaving a peaceful world for our children to inherit would be practicing true love, so let us make this happen.

I have been saying that the implementation of international law for peace is something everyone should agree on. Hence, once the ILPC members review it and submit it, it should be adopted at the UN. Once that happens, it will be practiced, and it should be.

Thank you.