As an independent candidate for president who has drawn attention from around the world, I wish to offer my formal, deep-felt, apologies to Mr. Bill Gates, one of the great business innovators and generous philanthropist of our age, for the humorous, but easily misinterpreted, comments that I made on August 15, 2022, Korean Independence Day, in front of the offices of Pfizer Korea in Myung-dong district, Seoul.
My comments were thoughtless and my actions reckless. I somehow had convinced myself that Mr. Gate’s visit to Korea resembled the formal procession of an emperor to a colony, and it was thus inappropriate for him to address the National Assembly as an individual who had made a fortune from vaccine sales.
But I failed to understand that Mr. Gates was a humanitarian dedicated to saving the Korean people, and not a butcher rounding them up for the slaughter.
I will do my best to avoid such misunderstandings in the future.
Sincerely,
Emanuel Pastreich
May 25, 2024
Formal apology to Mr. Bill Gates