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T. McDevitt: Address to Summit 2022, Session IV
Written by Mr. Tom McDevitt, chairman, The Washington Times
Friday, August 12, 2022
Address to Summit 2022 and Leadership Conference,
Seoul, Korea, August 11-15, 2022
Good afternoon, everyone who’s here, and online all over the world. I understand there’s a number of colleagues in the media who are watching this in our lobby. So thank you for joining us.
It was an extraordinary experience for all of us who were on the tour. I think a key point was the time. This was the beginning of President Yoon’s administration. He’s got four years and eight months left, so it was an important moment with a new cabinet, new leaders, and I think that was essential.
It also is at the time when China is encircling Taiwan. Madam Vice President, your remarks are so well taken. We all are concerned about that. We’re concerned about Russia and Ukraine. And then we also look to the incredible tragedy of the passing of one of the greatest statesmen of our era, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, may God bless him. He stood for freedom. He stood for the region that we pay attention to in Asia, and he and his family are in our prayers.
It also is the 10th anniversary of Reverend Moon’s passing. I had the pleasure of working with him for now almost 50 years. I’ve never met a coach or a mentor, religiously or politically or in management, who taught me as much. His vision, which I think was heavenly ordained, if you will, to bring about peace and prosperity throughout the world, targeting the Asia Pacific region. And he had a passion to unite Korea. We come on those footsteps.
And finally, it’s the 40th year of The Washington Times. It was May 17, 1982. Ronald Reagan was a year and a few months in office. The Washington Star had folded. There was only one voice in town, The Washington Post. Many of our colleagues know what it was like with just one voice. So Reverend Moon pulled a group of terrific business and editorial newsmakers together and set about to launch The Washington Times.
We’re doing this program as part of our year-long tour of activities. The first thing that we did with our president and executive editor’s leadership, Chris Dolen—you’re going to hear from him in just a moment—is produce a special report on The Washington Times. This is required reading. Please, it’s online. Share it with your friends. The tremendous history and legacy of this company is really something to behold.
That’s why we can compete with The New York Times. We can compete with The Wall Street Journal, with The Washington Post, because of the integrity and excellence of our journalism. You’re going to hear two of the best people in the country, in the world, Chris Dolen and Charlie Hurt, in just a second. So this is a gift for you.
And number two, you know the pen is mightier than the sword, so we’ve given you your own Washington Times pen to write your own letters to the editor, sign checks to worthy causes, write in your journal and be part of this historic journey to bring peace on earth.
Final observations: Dr. Jenkins, thank you for your leadership. Larry Moffitt, Sonoko. What an outstanding professional team, coupled with the Korean embassy and the Korean staff on this side. The big takeaway for me: I’ve been on about a dozen of these, I think, since 2015. The level of interest and respect on the part of major Korean government leaders, along with their entire staff was noticeable. And the amount of time that they took to be with us and engage us.
The other takeaway for me, which was really a treasure, was to engage with our delegation: Ambassador DeTrani, Dr. Mansurov, General Sharp, Andy Kim and Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne. It was incredible to see the impression that they had on everyone. So it was a great trip.
But the final point is you represent a unique global community that cares about this region and this is just the tip of the iceberg, as you know. We have not only The Washington Times, not only a fact-finding trip, Doctor Walsh’s leadership with UPF, but a global, multifaceted network that cares and is willing to take action. And we shared that at every one of our briefings.
I will now step down so that my colleagues can take over and we can finish up. Thank you very much and God bless you.
To go to the World Summit 2022 Schedule page, click here.