Ha Tae-kyung: "Moon had a relationship exchanging letters with North Korea... If he had tried, he could have saved the victims"

Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, is questioning at the confirmation hearing for Seo Wook, the nominee for Minister of National Defense, held at the National Assembly on the 16th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Ha Tae-kyung, a 52-year-old member of the People Power Party, criticized the government's response to the recent incident in which a North Korean maritime fisheries official was shot, saying, "He could have been saved." Ha also repeatedly pointed out to President Moon, "Weren't you exchanging letters?" and urged him to "apologize."

On the 26th, Ha posted on his Facebook, "Looking at Kim Jong-un's letter, there was a communication channel with the North at the time," and claimed, "Moreover, considering Kim Jong-un's unusual apology, it suggests that if our government had made a little more effort to save the missing official, he could have been saved."

He also said to President Moon, "If you were in a relationship where you exchanged letters, you should have made more active efforts to save the victim," and added, "You should sincerely apologize to the bereaved families for damaging the victim's honor and not attempting to rescue him."

Earlier, on the 25th, Ha appeared on CBS Kim Hyun-jung's News Show and criticized the government's response. In particular, he said, "Chief Seo Joo-seok also mentioned it, and the Ministry of National Defense said that the first report was received while our citizen was still alive. President Moon also received a written report before the official Lee was killed."

In response to the host's question, "He was killed at 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday night, but is it true that the president received a written report at 6:30 p.m.?" Ha replied, "It took six hours from discovery to killing. No order to kill immediately was given. The North Korean authorities hesitated as well... I believe he could have been saved," dismissing the issue.