'71st Anniversary of the 6.25 War' Opposition: From Troop-Dispatching Countries and Honoring Veterans to Criticism of Moon's Diplomacy

Lee Jun-seok "We Must Not Forget the 16 Dispatching Allied Countries"
Kim Ki-hyun "Moon Focused Only on Kim Jong-un's Mood and Security"

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, is taking a photo at the central event commemorating the 71st anniversary of the Korean War held on the 25th at the Busan Cinema Center. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] On the 71st anniversary of the Korean War, opposition parties raised various issues such as war dispatch countries and the treatment of national veterans. Messages criticizing the current administration's diplomatic failures also appeared on this occasion.

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, said on Facebook on the morning of the 25th, "The ideological confrontation deepened into conflict, and that conflict deteriorated into mutual misunderstanding and hatred, deepening the pain of division," adding, "It must never be repeated."

He then mentioned the 16 dispatch countries, including the United States, Canada, and Colombia, which provided military cooperation during the Korean War. He emphasized, "We must not forget the 16 allied dispatch countries that stood together to protect freedom and democracy," and "We must help when their democracy is threatened, and stand with them when they face the enemies of democracy."

Voices criticizing the Moon administration's North Korea policy also emerged on the occasion of the Korean War anniversary. Kim Ki-hyun, floor leader of the People Power Party, said at the morning floor meeting, "North Korea's provocations and nuclear threats are rather increasing," and "Even when North Korea makes unthinkable insults toward the President of the Republic of Korea, the Moon administration fails to properly express regret and is only preoccupied with appeasing North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un."

The People’s Party also raised critical voices toward the current administration. Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, said on Facebook, "We thank the patriotic spirits and veterans who devoted their lives for the country and must strengthen our security awareness," but also raised concerns, "Recently, a senior official of a civic group was arrested on charges of sending domestic information to North Korea under the direction of a North Korean agent."

Ahn added, "A bigger problem is that the civic group to which the suspect belonged reportedly received funding from the Ministry of Unification under the Moon administration until recently," and criticized, "The government has neither provided a proper explanation nor apologized."

Meanwhile, messages demanding the government to honor war victims also appeared. Hwang Bo-seung-hee, senior spokesperson of the People Power Party, said in a statement, "The 'Military Prisoner Countermeasures Committee,' which has been convened only once under this government, should promptly resume its activities to ensure that the last one can be embraced by the homeland," and "I hope the government will accelerate the excavation of the remains of 130,000 heroes whose bodies have not yet been recovered despite their noble sacrifice."