Moon Chung-in: "I Exchanged Text Messages with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, But There Was No Mention of the President"

Regarding independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon's claim during today's parliamentary questioning that Moon Chung-in, Professor Emeritus at Yonsei University, and Foreign Minister Cho Hyun exchanged text messages on the 8th expressing concerns about the president regarding the troop dispatch situation, Moon stated that while it is true he received text messages, Minister Cho never made any remarks related to the president.

In a phone call with an SBS reporter, Moon stated this while explaining, "At the time, I was participating in the Korea-Japan High-Level Strategic Dialogue at Keio University in Japan."

Moon said, "When I told him (during the strategic dialogue) that 'the issue of dispatching troops to the Strait of Hormuz seems to be a point of contention as well,' (Minister Cho) sent a text message saying, 'It is an issue of limited participation for the safety of international maritime routes, but I am concerned that political circles keep framing it as a troop dispatch.'"

He added that two ruling and two opposition lawmakers from the National Assembly and Japanese lawmakers were present at the time, and that "I allowed the lawmakers to view the text messages (with the intention of) using them as a reference since this is the minister's view when discussing the Strait of Hormuz troop dispatch issue."

Reiterating that "that is all there is to it," Moon dismissed the lawmaker's claim that they exchanged text messages with the intention that the president should not be held responsible as a "complete lie."

He added, "Foreign Minister Cho has never made any such remarks."

It is reported that People Power Party lawmakers Jin Jong-oo and Bae Hyun-jin participated in the event.

The event on this day was held under the Chatham House Rule.

The Chatham House Rule is an agreement where participants are free to express their views in a discussion space, but they do not disclose outside who made specific statements, allowing only the gist of the discussion to be freely shared.

Earlier this afternoon during the parliamentary questioning, lawmaker Han told First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Yoon-joo that he received a tip, claiming, "On the afternoon of September 8, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun sent a text message to Professor Moon Chung-in saying, 'Regarding the Strait of Hormuz troop dispatch, to protect President Lee Jae-myung, we must send the consent bill to the National Assembly and have them fight over it there; we must not let the president step forward and take responsibility. That is the only way to avoid controversy over accountability.' Is there an underground circle behind the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.