Minju: "A Week of National Dignity Collapse... Kim Gi-hyeon, Deceiving the Public for Party Leadership Ambition"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The Democratic Party of Korea urged President Yoon Seok-yeol, who returned home on the 24th after an overseas trip, to issue a public apology, calling it "a week in which the nation's dignity collapsed." Regarding the controversy over President Yoon's use of profanity, the party criticized Kim Ki-hyun, a member of the People Power Party who mentioned the 'mad cow disease incident,' saying, "Are you so blinded by your ambition for party leadership that you shamelessly make misleading remarks and ignore public sentiment?"

Senior Deputy Spokesperson Ahn Gwi-ryeong said at a National Assembly briefing that afternoon, "President Yoon should immediately apologize to the public for the overall diplomatic incompetence and diplomatic fiasco upon his return and dismiss the diplomatic team." He pointed out, "On the first day of his arrival in the UK, President Yoon said he would conduct 'condolence diplomacy' but canceled the condolence visit citing traffic control as an excuse. At the UN General Assembly speech in New York, he shouted only an 11-minute hollow slogan of 'freedom'."

He added, "The 30-minute meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, obtained after persistent courting, and the 48-second talk with U.S. President Joe Biden, which replaced a failed summit, sparked controversy over 'begging diplomacy' and 'humiliating diplomacy.'" Deputy Spokesperson Ahn said, "Especially, the shocking profanity uttered after the 48-second talk caused a scandal of 'swearing diplomacy.' However, the presidential office refuses to apologize and continues to fuel public anger with excuses and false explanations."

Deputy Spokesperson Ahn also criticized Kim Ki-hyun regarding the controversy over President Yoon's profanity, saying, "He shamelessly makes misleading remarks blinded by his ambition for party leadership. Are you ignoring public sentiment?"

Kim wrote on Facebook, "Groups attempting to revive the fabricated mad cow disease incident are creeping up and wriggling again," adding, "I will be the first to throw my whole body into the front line to fight so that these wicked groups, who pursue only their own faction's interests with no regard for national interests, never rise again."

In response, Deputy Spokesperson Ahn said, "It is clear that President Yoon used profanity, so what is it that you call incitement and deception?" He criticized, "It seems that both President Yoon and Kim Ki-hyun, who cover for the president's slip of the tongue, still mistakenly believe the incident can be covered up." He continued, "But the public's judgment has been made. The world's evaluation is over," emphasizing, "The only way to escape the crisis is to acknowledge the slip of the tongue and apologize as soon as possible."