Opposition's Jeong Jeomsik: "Dismiss Chung Dong-young for Denying Military Findings on 'North Korean Landmine Attack'"

Jeong Jeomsik, floor leader of the People Power Party, said on the 9th, "Minister Chung Dong-young's remark during the parliamentary audit that 'it cannot be identified as a landmine attack' denied even the final findings of our military's investigation, ultimately providing an alibi that absolves North Korea of responsibility for its act of aggression." He called for Chung's immediate dismissal.

Jung Jeomsik, floor leader of the People Power Party.

In a Facebook post that day, Jeong said, "North Korea's Kim Yo Jong hurled inhumane insults at our offer of medical equipment assistance to the North, calling it 'another farce.' We were attacked, yet we pay tribute to our enemy, and North Korea repays that tribute with ridicule." He added, "I cannot help but feel dismay at the sight of our nation's dignity crumbling."

Earlier, during a parliamentary audit, Chung said that a landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) last month "cannot be identified as an attack." The remark sparked controversy because it differed from the military's announcement describing the incident as "an unmistakable provocation by North Korea." Kim Yo Jong, vice director of the Workers' Party of Korea's General Affairs Department, later referred to the remark in a statement, saying, "Even South Korean official Chung Dong-young admitted himself that it is difficult to conclude that this was a deliberate attack." Jeong appeared to be arguing that Chung's defensive remarks had given North Korea a foothold for its "blaming the victim" attitude.

Jeong said, "Despite North Korea's landmine provocation and clear violation of the Armistice Agreement, Minister Chung also said he would seek a peaceful solution through 'goodwill-for-goodwill' communication." He added that Chung had opposed response measures proposed by Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, including independent sanctions against North Korea over its cyber activities. "What on earth can this government do?" he asked, criticizing it for doing nothing but "paying tribute to North Korea, being mocked by it, and keeping quiet even after being beaten."

"How are we to make sense of the irony that the government is taking the extremely hard-line step of recalling its ambassador from Ukraine over a personal dispute, even though Ukraine repatriated North Korean prisoners of war, while maintaining a thoroughly servile silence toward North Korea?" he said. "The international community will have no choice but to interpret this as a signal that the South Korean government has decided to side with North Korea and Russia."

Jeong reiterated his criticism, saying, "For more than 30 years, from President Kim Dae-jung's Sunshine Policy through the Lee Jae-myung administration, left-wing governments have followed a consistent policy of submission to North Korea, including delivering dollars to the North. As a result, our people have been forced to live with nuclear weapons hanging over their heads." He added, "This policy of submission to North Korea was a political time bomb that undermined South Korea's security from within, and a policy that gave North Korea the gift of time to advance its nuclear arsenal."

He continued, "President Lee Jae-myung must first dismiss Minister Chung, the very embodiment of the policy of submission to North Korea." He called it "the minimum step required to respond to North Korea's landmine provocation through the president's appointment authority and heed the anger of the public."

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