Moving heart of Vietnamese people through reconciliation of past history

As the first official event of her state visit to Vietnam, President Park Geun-hye offered flowers with deepest respect at the tomb of Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, Vietnam on Monday. Known as the founding father of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh was the leader of the enemy state of Korea when President Park’s father, the late President Park Chung-hee, dispatched Korean military to Vietnam, which resulted in unique relations between President Park and the late Vietnamese leader.

After approaching the entrance to Ho Chi Minh’s tomb, Park attached a ribbon decorated with artificial flowers to a bouquet of artificial flowers on the tomb to pay her respect in accordance with Vietnamese style ritual. Then, she walked into the tomb and briefly paid a silent tribute. Customarily, Ho Chi Minh’s tomb is said to be closed to the public on Mondays. But as President Park conveyed to the Vietnamese government her intention to visit Ho Chi Minh’s tomb as the first official event during her visit to Vietnam, the Vietnam government reportedly opened the tomb as a special case. For the Vietnamese side, labor, veteran and social affairs minister Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan guided President Park in a gesture to show respect to the Korean president.

President Park also visited the residence of Ho Chi Minh in person, after concluding a summit meeting with President Truong Tan Sang on Monday afternoon. A treaty signing ceremony and a joint press conference with the Vietnamese president to announce the results of the summit talks held on the day at the presidential palace also took place under a facial statue of Ho Chi Minh. At a dinner reception for Korean and Vietnamese entrepreneurs on Sunday, President Park said, “If friendship and trust do not change, partners can cope with any changes and challenges together” by citing Ho Chi Minh’s credo “Cope with all changing things with unchanging things.” A source at the Korean presidential office said, “As President Park sought to clearly express her intension to share hearts with the Vietnamese people, she paid her utmost respect to Ho Chi Minh, whom the Vietnamese respect.