Opposition Urges On-Site Probe into 'DMZ Mine Explosion': "Deliberate Delay Is Aiding the Enemy"

▲ Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the western front

On September 24, the opposition launched an offensive over a recent suspected landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), criticizing the Lee Jae-myung administration for failing to promptly launch an on-site investigation.

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok posted on Facebook that day, saying, "A four-paragraph social media post right after the accident was all we heard from President Lee. Not a single word has been said so far regarding an investigation into the landmine provocation or responding to North Korea's repeated provocations." He criticized, "With the president behaving this way, the military's conduct is even more pathetic."

Jang said sarcastically, "(The military) claims it will conduct an on-site investigation after the Chuseok holiday. It is even said that our military rejected the UN Command's attempt to immediately launch an on-site investigation," adding, "Are they trying to give the North Korean military time to destroy evidence?"

He went on to rebuke, "During the 2015 wooden-box landmine provocation, evidence was collected on the afternoon of the accident, and a joint on-site investigation with the UN Command was conducted just two days after the incident. If the on-site investigation was deliberately delayed, this is clearly an 'act of aiding the enemy.' If it was ordered by the president, there is no clearer ground for impeachment than this."

Jang emphasized, "The Ministry of National Defense yesterday rejected our party's visit to the site of the provocation. We said we would go again on Monday, but they are still dodging an answer. They are afraid of revealing the truth to the public."

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon also published a series of posts on Facebook that day, announcing a schedule for a press conference in front of the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan and stating, "The Lee Jae-myung administration delaying the investigation under the pretext of the Chuseok holiday is allowing evidence to be washed away by rainwater or giving the North Korean military an opportunity to destroy evidence."

Han criticized, "The area in question is a blind spot for our surveillance equipment, and North Korean soldiers could come down and destroy evidence during the holiday," asking, "Even if a war breaks out during the holiday, are you going to take time off and fight afterward?"

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