The South American West Coast and Brazil Chapters of the NUAC (National Unification Advisory Council) held their 17th Inaugural Session on August 6 and 10, 2015, respectively.

The first program of the session included introductory video, delivery of letter of appointment, oath of the council members, video message from the Chairperson, report of the direction of the activities of the NUAC. The second program included a lecture on the unification of Korea by Professor Kim Yeong-su and a chorus of the 'Song of Unification'.

The inaugural session held at 5:30pm, Thursday, August 6, 2015 at the Abasto Hotel, Bueno Aires was attended by some 80 people including council members of the 17th session, Koreans living in the area and consulate staff.

Lee Hak-rak, head of the South American West Coast Chapter, gave an opening address at the session, saying, "It's true that while our wish to realize the unification of Korea in celebrating the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation, today's situation such as the rapidly changing global trends are quite different. However, this is the very reason why we the council members must have confidence in making all the preparations necessary to achieve the unification of Korea."

Chu Jong-yeon, South Korean Ambassador to Argentina, gave a congratulatory speech saying, "The inaugural session is a place to congratulate and bless the council members, and also the time to renew their resolve to serve." He went on to urge the council members to balance the weight in the Korean communities and play the role of a troubleshooter in addition to focusing on the main activities of the NUAC.

The inaugural session held at 7:00pm, Monday, August 10, 2015 at the Novotel Hotel was attended by some 90 people including council members of the 17th session, Koreans living in the area and consulate staff.

Park Dae-geun, head of the Brazil Chapter, gave an opening address, saying, "I'm so proud and grateful of you for volunteering to serve to achieve the unification of our country when the whole world is suffering from poor economic conditions." He went on to say that they should all work together to support Korea's policy on the unification and spread the consensus on the unification of Korea in the Korean communities in Brazil.

Hong Yeong-jong, South Korean Consul General to Sao Paulo, said, "Koreans living in Brazil have settled down as good or better than those who have settled down in other countries of the world. You have the power in you, and that power will greatly contribute to achieving the unification of Korea earlier than we expect." He went to urge to the council members to spread the foundation for the peaceful unification of Korea across the Korean communities and then other countries of the world.

Shin Yong-un, Director of the Secretariat of the NUAC, presented reports on "The Direction for Activities of the 17th NUAC" submitted by the South American West Coast and Brazil Chapters. In his presentation, he said, "One of the particularly important objectives in promoting the preparation of the unification of Korea is internationalization." He went on to ask the members of foreign municipal chapters to: 1) Form a consensus among Koreans living abroad on the unification of Korea and related policies. 2) Gain the support of the global community in the unification of Korea. 3) Strengthen the resolve of Koreans living abroad to work together towards the unification of Korea.

Kim Yeong-su, professor at Sogang University, gave a lecture titled 'Conditions around the Korean Peninsula and the Relationship Between North and South Korea'. In the lecture he said that the prerequisites for the peaceful unification of Korea are: 1) Strong national security. 2) Normalization of the relationship between North and South Korea through the process of building trust between the two. 3) A solid basis for the unification of Korea based on 'trust diplomacy'. He said that to gain support for the unification of Korea, we need the interest and participation of foreign municipal chapter members and Koreans living abroad more than anything.

The members of the South American West Coast and Brazil Chapters have completed the session by promising that they will try hard to open the era of unified Korea where 80 million people can be happy.