Na Kyungwon: "Lee Administration Must Reverse Recall of Ambassador to Ukraine and Dismiss Diplomatic and Security Team"

Na Kyungwon, a People Power Party lawmaker, said on Oct. 12, "Cowardly submission that bows to an aggressor and abandons our compatriots to their deaths is clearly an act of treason," adding, "The Lee Jae-myung administration must immediately reverse its unjustified recall of the ambassador to Ukraine and dismiss the entire diplomatic and security team that has shut the door on freedom."

Na Kyungwon, a People Power Party lawmaker, questions Prime Minister Han Seongsuk during a parliamentary interpellation on political affairs at the National Assembly on Sept. 9, 2026. Photo by Yun Dongju.

Speaking at a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Center that morning, Na said, "The only reason I can see for the Lee Jae-myung administration's response going this far is to signal to North Korea, 'We didn't want to accept your prisoners of war, and we won't accept them in the future either.'"

Responding to criticism from the ruling party for sending a letter of gratitude to Ukraine, Na said, "They tell the brazen lie that keeping the letter private was a measure to protect the safety of the North Korean prisoners of war and their families," adding, "These prisoners had already expressed their intention to come to South Korea in February 2025, and this had become common knowledge in North Korea as well."

Na continued, "Because of the Lee Jae-myung Democratic Party administration's outrageous and immoral conduct toward the Ukrainian government, the path to South Korea has now narrowed for a second or third group of North Korean prisoners of war." She added, "Despairing remarks are already emerging from Ukraine that repatriating a second or third group of prisoners will now be difficult."

Na said, "The war in Ukraine is a massive struggle between the liberal democratic camp and authoritarian forces," adding, "On a front line where our free-world allies are shedding blood to defend freedom, South Korea alone is whipping a benefactor and sending signals that benefit the aggressor Russia and North Korea."

She continued, "This has sent the worst possible signal to the international community that South Korea is no longer on the side of freedom. This is an irreparable act of self-harm to our national interests, and it will escalate beyond a security issue into one involving trade and the economy."

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