▲ President Lee Jae-myung
Rival parties traded fierce barbs after President Lee Jae-myung strongly rebuked conservative opposition parties for criticizing the government's policy of keeping the domestic repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) undisclosed.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, President Lee expressed regret toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for breaking an agreement to keep the domestic repatriation of two North Korean POWs confidential by making it public.
President Lee also sharply pushed back against criticism directed at the government's confidentiality directive, stating, "Those who harm lives and national security just to claim credit are murderers and traitors."
Shin Hyun-young, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed regret in a written commentary, saying, "President Zelenskyy disclosed the repatriation of North Korean POWs to the world despite a non-disclosure agreement between the Republic of Korea and Ukraine." She added, "This action breached trust between the two nations and was dangerous from a national security perspective."
She continued, "The most critical matter right now is to thoroughly protect the personal safety of the two repatriated individuals," urging the Ukrainian government to explain the circumstances of the disclosure while calling for active cooperation on follow-up measures to ensure their safety.
Spokesperson Shin warned, "The Lee Jae-myung administration has not the slightest intention of boasting about or politically exploiting the repatriation of North Korean POWs," adding, "The People Power Party must not escalate this matter into a political feud."
She further stated, "Refrain from demanding disclosures or raising baseless allegations that could expose the identities of those under protection or the specific procedures of their safeguarding, and actively cooperate with measures to ensure their safety," concluding, "The Democratic Party will fully perform its role so that the government can concentrate on airtight personal protection and responsible diplomatic responses."
On the other hand, People Power Party Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik criticized in a Facebook post, "The domestic repatriation of North Korean prisoners is only a matter of timing, and making it public is the right course. Even so, why was the government suddenly obsessed with keeping it secret?" He asked, "Were you that afraid of upsetting Kim Jong-un? Does that fear stem from vulnerabilities regarding the 'remittance to North Korea' case?"
Jeong directly targeted the president, saying, "In response to the People Power Party questioning why the domestic repatriation was concealed, President Lee poured out attacks using extreme language such as 'cruelty,' 'irresponsibility,' 'murderer,' and 'traitor.'" He added, "The government is begging the North Korean regime for fake peace and submitting to all kinds of provocations. The traitors are you."
Lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo wrote on Facebook, "If we cannot even independently disclose prisoner repatriations because we are walking on eggshells around North Korea, that is not even a country." He criticized, "The more the president's yearning toward North Korea grows, the more our security is undermined and our diplomacy becomes incompetent."
Independent Lawmaker Han Dong-hoon also claimed, "President Lee, who blustered that 'if anyone touches a South Korean, I will ruin them,' kept his mouth shut regarding North Korea's landmine attack and is only angry that the North Korean POWs were disclosed." He argued, "The security benchmark of the Lee Jae-myung administration is whether it has offended Kim Jong-un's regime in North Korea, because he is compromised by Kim Jong-un, who received the remittances intended for Lee Jae-myung."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.