Prior to his address at the Riksdag (Parliament) of Sweden this morning (local time), President Moon Jae-in met with ruling and opposition lawmakers there as well as Speaker Andreas Norlén of the Riksdag, the second-ranking official in the country.

At the meeting, President Moon congratulated Speaker Norlén on his election as Speaker with extensive support from Riksdag members and on his success in forging a coalition.

President Moon praised Sweden’s long-established democracy by saying, “The Parliament of Sweden, which has roots that go back to the Arboga meeting in the 15th century, granted women the right to vote in 1919 and introduced the institution of universal suffrage.

President Moon added, "I watched a Korean TV program that featured Swedish lawmakers living a simple and frugal life. Having personally seen a high level of cooperative governance in the Riksdag, I hope to further develop friendly and cooperative ties between our two countries."  

In reply, Speaker Norlén expressed his appreciation to President Moon, noting that he was deeply impressed by the President's high evaluation of the Arboga meeting. 

The Speaker went on to ask about the overriding objectives that the President aims to achieve during this trip to three Nordic countries. President Moon responded, “Korea has achieved high economic growth so far, following the United States’ development model. However, this rapid growth caused extreme economic polarization and many other issues that have to be resolved. Thus, we intend to take the path toward inclusive welfare, gender equality, peace and innovation. In those aspects, the three Northern European countries are at the forefront. Korea hopes to learn about those countries’ advanced values of inclusiveness, peace and innovation and promote them at home.”
          
The President continued, “Korea is carrying out the peace process to achieve complete denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. I ask you to continue to have much interest in and provide support for peace on the Korean Peninsula as you always have.”