Blue House: President Lee's Description of 'Unfortunate Incident' Aimed to Console Injured Soldiers

The Blue House has stated that President Lee Jaemyung’s description of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) landmine explosion as an "unfortunate accident" was intended in the context of offering comfort to the injured soldiers.

On October 2, Sung Ki-hong, Senior Secretary for Public Relations and Communications at the Blue House, appeared on SBS Radio’s "Kim Taehyun’s Political Show" and responded to a question about why President Lee referred to the incident as an "unfortunate accident," clarifying this position.

Sung Ki-hong, Senior Secretary for Public Relations and Communications, is giving a briefing on personnel matters at the Blue House press conference hall on October 1, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News

In his keynote speech for Armed Forces Day the previous day, President Lee said, "When I think about our soldiers who were injured in an unfortunate accident in the DMZ just recently, it still breaks my heart." In response, the opposition parties strongly criticized him for not holding North Korea accountable.

Senior Secretary Sung further explained, "The President believes that those who have made extraordinary sacrifices for the nation should be given special recognition and compensation." He added, "When visiting hospitals to offer his consolation in person, he made statements in line with that context, and the same intention was reflected in his keynote speech for Armed Forces Day yesterday."

Senior Secretary Sung continued, "We are currently in the process of clarifying the exact cause of the landmine accident, and both the President and our office have stated their commitment to thoroughly reveal the facts surrounding the incident." He emphasized, "Once the detailed findings of the accident are reported, the government’s resolve to take necessary and strict action in accordance with those findings will remain unchanged."

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