Roh Moo-Hyun was sworn in as South Korean president at a ceremony in Seoul on Tuesday morning.
Roh was sworn in before some 45,000 domestic and foreign guests in front of the National Assembly.
Roh, who replaces outgoing president Kim Dae-Jung, took the oath of office at a ceremony outside South Korea's National Assembly building in western Seoul.
"I swear to my people solemnly that I will defend my country, abide by the constitution of my country, and devote myself to the realization of reunification of the Korean Peninsula... I will dutifully to fulfill the president's commitment to my people."
Roh Moo-Hyun, a former human rights lawyer, won the last December's presidential election representing the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP).
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Chinese Vice-Premier Qian Qichen, US Secretary of States Colin Powell, Speaker of the Federation Council of Russia's Federal Assembly Sergei Mironov and former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung are among those present at the ceremony.
(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2003)
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