"The UN Speech Containing the Ceasefire Declaration Message Should Have Been Halted"
Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 24th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, criticized the handling of the North Korean shooting incident involving a missing public official from Yeonpyeong Island on the 25th, saying, “If the seriousness of the matter was recognized to the extent that an emergency National Security Council (NSC) meeting was convened at 1 a.m. on the 23rd, the very first thing that should have been done beforehand was to completely halt the UN speech containing the 'end-of-war declaration' message.”
On the same day, Ahn said on Facebook, “An enormous incident occurred where a South Korean citizen was killed under the watch of our military, yet President Moon Jae-in did not attend the 1 a.m. meeting,” adding, “He only received a report at 8:30 a.m. on the 23rd, seven hours later. How is this different from the seven hours during the Sewol ferry disaster that the president criticized so much?”
Ahn pointed out, “The president should be the protector of the South Korean people, but after receiving the report, he only made a vague remark at a military promotion ceremony, saying ‘The era of peace is not a straight line,’” and “Despite the unprecedented provocation of North Korea shooting and burning a South Korean citizen at sea, he neither mentioned nor condemned it.”
Ahn said, “It was only on the 24th, more than 40 hours after the incident, that President Moon expressed ‘deep regret over the shocking incident’ regarding the North Korean military’s shooting and burning of our missing public official, and that too through a spokesperson. He only verbally said, ‘The North Korean authorities must take responsible answers and measures,’” and he sharply questioned, “Is this situation something where we just ask the North side to take answers and measures?”
Ahn added, “The hotline connected to the North is not even working, so how are we supposed to receive answers and what measures are we asking for? Then, is it enough to just give a belated order to our military to ‘further strengthen the alert posture and prepare all measures to protect the lives and safety of the people’?” He asked, “Have you ever once thought about the grieving hearts of the bereaved families?”
Ahn stated, “When harm comes to the people, the entire country must respond; that is the most basic principle. At the time when our citizens were being shot and horrifically burned, where were the president and the South Korean military and what were they doing?” He concluded, “The full truth of the incident must be revealed, and those responsible must be punished regardless of rank or status.”
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