Democratic Party Pushes Back Against People Power Party's 'Excessive Delight' Criticism: "Rather Than Supporting Efforts for Peace..."

On August 21, the Democratic Party of Korea rebutted the People Power Party's criticism of President Lee Jaemyung's stance on scaling back the South Korea-U.S. combined military exercises, stating, "Efforts for peace are being misrepresented as causing security anxieties."

On the 17th, when the South Korean and U.S. military authorities began the regular combined exercise 'Ulchi Freedom Shield' (UFS) for the defense of the Korean Peninsula in case of emergency, Apache helicopters were on standby at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Kim Sung-hoe, floor spokesperson for the Democratic Party, pointed out in a written briefing that Jeong Jeom-sik, floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized President Lee as being "overjoyed." He commented, "Once again, efforts to lower tensions on the Korean Peninsula and open the door to dialogue are being met with accusations against the president of being 'overjoyed.'"

Earlier the same day, at a party meeting, Floor Leader Jeong criticized President Lee’s remark expressing "respect" for U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to scale back the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises, saying, "Can he really be this thrilled after being bypassed on alliance training schedules?" He went on to characterize President Lee’s North Korea policy as "nothing short of bizarre North Korea stalking."

In response, Spokesperson Kim asserted, "Claiming that speaking of peace equals abandoning security, or that lowering tensions equals weakening alliances, is old politics that cannot protect the people’s safety." He emphasized, "What is needed now is not political strife, but responsible politics that maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula based on a robust South Korea-U.S. alliance and strong national defense."

Meanwhile, according to the directives of U.S. President Donald Trump, the 'Ulchi Freedom Shield' (UFS) South Korea-U.S. combined exercises—which had their size and duration reduced—concluded early on this day. Debates over security and North Korea policies between the ruling and opposition parties continue over the reduction of the joint exercises.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.