Kang Junwook, the Presidential Secretary for National Integration, issued an apology on the 20th for stating that if President Lee Jaemyung were to take power, it would become a totalitarian regime.
In a statement released that day, Secretary Kang said, "I deeply apologize for causing great pain to the people who suffered for months under martial law with the content and expressions in my book," and added, "I sincerely apologize."
He continued, "I believe that no excuse can truly resolve the pain and discomfort caused to the public," and stated, "Even now, I will do my utmost, based on thorough self-reflection, to fulfill the President's commitment to embrace and unite the people who have been divided by generation, class, and ideology."
In his book "Barbaric Democracy," published last March, Secretary Kang wrote, "I define President Yoon Sukyeol's martial law as an undemocratic form of resistance against the Democratic Party's violent abuse of democracy," and added, "It was a systematic action (page 205) carried out because he could no longer endure the tyranny of the majority party in the National Assembly, which had tied the government's hands and feet to the point that it could not function."
Regarding former President Yoon, who is on trial on charges of leading an insurrection, he wrote, "If martial law had resulted in deaths, injuries, infringement of basic rights, or the suppression of freedom, the President could have been held responsible. However, none of that happened." This logic is similar to arguments raised by groups supporting former President Yoon at the time.
On the "Enlightenment Decree" mentioned by former President Yoon during the Constitutional Court proceedings, Kang wrote, "It may be difficult for ordinary people to accept in their hearts, but in reality, he chose martial law as a way to communicate to the public the frustration and sense of helplessness of the situation at the time (page 272)."
He also expressed his antipathy toward President Lee Jaemyung, who was a leading presidential candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea. Secretary Kang wrote, "Regardless of who becomes the opposition party's presidential candidate, their thoughts and ideologies clearly set society back, but none are as unpredictable as Lee Jaemyung," and added, "Regardless of personal likes or dislikes, whether he is a criminal or not, based on his actions and past conduct, if Lee Jaemyung becomes president, it seems likely to become a powerful, frightening, totalitarian, and dogmatic regime."
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