Ahn Cheol-soo: "Jeong Kyeong-du is not the Minister of National Defense but the regime's bodyguard"

"Military Command System and Discipline Shaken... If Minister's Words Are True, It's a Dang Dynasty Army"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, criticized Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-du on the 17th, saying, “Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae is serious, but I think the Defense Minister is more problematic,” and added, “If troop management is carried out as the minister says, can that be called a national regular army or just the army of the Tang Dynasty?”

At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Ahn said, “I want to point out Minister Jeong’s issues as a lesson for successors regarding the mistakes of predecessors,” and added, “He was not a Defense Minister protecting the safety of the country and its people, but a weak bodyguard who only looked at the Blue House and cared solely about the regime’s security.”

He pointed out, “Looking back at his actions, Minister Jeong consistently defended North Korea, saying concerns about North Korean missile launches had a ‘hidden meaning of trying to resolve through dialogue.’ Such remarks are unacceptable from a four-star general turned Defense Minister, unless he were a pro-North ruling party politician.”

He continued, “Regarding clear acts of North Korean armed provocations, such as the Cheonan sinking and the Battle of Yeonpyeong, he glossed over them as ‘various unfortunate clashes that occurred in the West Sea,’” adding, “What do you think our naval soldiers must have thought?”

Ahn criticized, “In the recent government questioning, Minister Jeong not only actively defended Minister Choo’s son using materials from ruling party and party-government meetings but also caused confusion by changing his statements about the appropriateness of the son’s military leave, damaging the military’s dignity. He shook the military’s command system and discipline to the core just to protect one son of Minister Choo.”

Regarding the Democratic Party of Korea, Ahn said, “Yesterday, there was an outrageous remark claiming that Minister Choo’s son personally practiced the words of An Jung-geun,” and added, “How dare they compare the national hero An Jung-geun to that? How can anyone say such a thing without losing their mind?”