To An Minseok who said "If the end-of-war declaration was made, there would have been no 'killing'"... Kim Geunsik says, "Apologize for your abusive texts"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] When Minseok An, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated in the National Assembly that "If a declaration of the end of the war had been made, the unfortunate incident of the public official's killing would not have happened," Professor Geunsik Kim, chairman of the People Power Party's Songpa-byeong district in Seoul and a professor at Gyeongnam National University, criticized him by saying, "He has a personality that cannot distinguish right from wrong" and told him to "apologize for the abusive text messages."

On the 28th, at the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, Representative An said, "The opposition party says now is not the time to discuss the resolution for the declaration of the end of the war, but I think now is more than ever the right time."

He added, "From around autumn to winter in 2018, expectations for the declaration of the end of the war were high, but it was ultimately abandoned. However, if the declaration had been made then, I believe today's unfortunate incident would not have occurred."

Representative An said, "I am Minseok An, who served as an Air Force lieutenant for 40 months. I can confidently speak about security," and asked opposition lawmakers, "Do you support the declaration of the end of the war but say now is not the time, or do you oppose the declaration and say now is even less the time?"

He continued, "At a time when a major adverse event that angers the public has occurred, we must not give up on the path of peace but continue to create it. The declaration of the end of the war should not be postponed because of the current situation but rather, because of this situation, the National Assembly must open the path to peace and create the path for the declaration of the end of the war." On that day, the resolution for the declaration of the end of the war was automatically submitted due to the end of the deliberation period, and after intense debate between the ruling and opposition parties, it was referred to the agenda adjustment committee.

In response to Representative An's remarks, Professor Kim criticized on Facebook, saying, "Stop the absurd talk about the declaration of the end of the war and apologize first for the abusive text messages." He pointed out, "To say that the killing and mutilation of the body of a South Korean citizen happened because the declaration of the end of the war was not made?do you even know what the declaration of the end of the war is? Rather than the declaration of the end of the war, North Korea should have properly adhered to the September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement signed by Kim Jong-un (Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea)."

Professor Kim said, "If Representative An wants to mention measures to prevent the killing of South Korean citizens, he should scold Kim Jong-un to abide by the September 19 military agreement instead of absurd talk about the declaration of the end of the war. Especially, this incident involves the brutal killing of unarmed civilians by North Korean soldiers who were adrift, and the burning of the bodies while wearing protective suits. It is an atrocity treating South Korean civilians as if they were coronavirus carriers. This is entirely different from the military confrontation between South and North Korea."

He added, "Why suddenly bring up the declaration of the end of the war in an incident where civilians were burned like virus eradication? Because of that personality that cannot distinguish right from wrong, unmentionable abusive language comes out. Stop the absurd talk about the declaration of the end of the war and apologize first for the abusive remarks of a five-term lawmaker."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The controversy over Representative An's 'abusive text messages' arose during a KakaoTalk conversation with a local private business operator. Recently, Representative An sent a message to a private business operator saying, "The construction has expanded too much compared to the letter of intent. An explanation is needed," and about 40 minutes later, he sent an abusive message saying, "XXX is not responding." When the business operator demanded an apology, he replied, "It was mistakenly sent to a junior."