Jung Chung-rae: "Visa Issue Very Regrettable on Part of US Authorities"

Representative Jung Chung-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, said today (October 27) that it is "deeply regrettable on the part of US administrative authorities" that he was unable to join the parliamentary audit inspection team for the Americas after failing to receive a US visa.

Representative Jung made the remarks after requesting to deliver a personal statement during the committee's comprehensive parliamentary audit held at the National Assembly on the same day.

He said, "I have carried out activities normally in the United States and done a lot to promote South Korea-US friendship, but this time the US visa was neither rejected nor approved, but simply under 'review'." He added, "Fearing that I might miss out on the parliamentary audit altogether, I switched teams."

Addressing the opposition party, he continued, "We should criticize and protest against the US administrative authorities for handling work this way, so I find it quite regrettable that this has led to controversy that seems to harm the national interest, as if the South Korea-US alliance were broken."

He further stated, "This is an issue where both the ruling and opposition parties should transcend partisanship to protest to the US, not something to use to attack our own government," adding, "I hope my US visa issue will not inadvertently cause any harm to the South Korea-US alliance."

Representative Jung was previously assigned to the committee's Americas audit team for this parliamentary audit and had applied for a US visa, but after the US put his visa issuance on hold, he urgently switched to the Europe audit team to take part in inspections across Europe.

Regarding his past history of being imprisoned on charges of violating the National Security Act after leading a sit-in protest occupying the US ambassador's residence in 1989, Representative Jung explained, "(Then-US Ambassador to South Korea Donald Gregg) encouraged me, saying, 'The university students were patriotic; continue to do your parliamentary work well with that spirit,' and so everything was resolved and reconciled."

In response, Representative Hong Ki-won of the Democratic Party, the ruling party's ranking member on the committee, said, "If the US government failed to issue a US visa by the time we needed it for someone who even served as leader of the ruling party, at the very least, we members of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee should take a stance criticizing such an attitude from the US."

Representative Hong noted, "I am very disappointed that some are showing a self-deprecating attitude, as if our government did something wrong, and that we failed to receive the visa because there is a problem in the South Korea-US relationship."

In response, Representative Kim Dae-shik of the People Power Party, the opposition party's ranking member on the committee, retorted, "That is why we are asking whether South Korea-US relations are truly solid right now," adding, "It is unacceptable that a member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea had a visa denied or put on hold when traveling for a parliamentary audit."

Representative Kim also said, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also bears responsibility. Isn't it the ministry's role to actively support parliamentary diplomacy? It bears due responsibility."
 
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.