Opposition Focuses on Allegations of Cheonggong's Involvement in Presidential Residence Relocation
Lee Jong-seop: "No Confirmation, Completely Untrue"
North Korean Drone Incident Exposes Security Breach, No Disciplinary Actions Taken
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 17th, the Democratic Party of Korea and the Justice Party launched a barrage of criticism at Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop regarding the allegations of the shaman 'Cheongong's involvement in the presidential residence and the North Korean drone incident.
On that day, Justice Party lawmaker Bae Jin-kyo opened by saying, "There is controversy that civilians toured the Army Chief of Staff's official residence and Seoul office, which were the planned sites for the presidential office relocation." Lawmaker Bae said, "If civilians entered, wouldn't there be entry records?" and added, "There are testimonies from informants that the shaman Cheongong and geomancer Geonjinbeopsa visited in relation to the presidential office relocation." He then asked, "Have you asked military officials about this?"
Minister Lee responded, "As far as I have confirmed, it is absolutely not true," and said, "Based on conversations with related personnel, that is the case."
However, Lawmaker Bae pointed out, "Many soldiers who were present at the time have been providing testimonies," and said, "They came in two Carnivals, and since it was still during the COVID-19 period, everyone was wearing masks. When asked the informant, 'How do you know that person is Cheongong?' they said that under the mask, there was a long beard, so they confirmed, 'That person is Cheongong.' They are speaking so specifically; what do you think about this?"
Minister Lee said, "I would also like to know the military personnel who said that," and reiterated, "As far as I have confirmed, it is absolutely not true."
Regarding the question, "Have you ever ordered internal reports or fact-checking related to your appointment as minister or recent controversies?" he answered, "Since it became a controversy initially, I received a report from the Army. The conclusion was that 'there is no such fact' based on confirmation with the parties involved, and I understood it that way." He added, "After the accusation, to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, I did not verify the facts with the parties involved."
When asked what evidence supports the statement 'there is no such fact,' he said, "The parties who were on duty at the time."
In response, Lawmaker Bae criticized, "Shouldn't you report the CCTV footage of the day’s entry specifically to the minister and say, 'We checked and found nothing,' so that the minister can firmly think, 'This is not true'?"
In the following questions, the controversy over 'Cheongong's involvement' continued, mainly from Democratic Party lawmakers. They emphasized the insufficiency of evidence for Minister Lee's answer of 'not true' and mentioned the need for hearings and other measures.
Democratic Party lawmaker Seol Hoon said, "Can you confidently say, 'My statement is absolutely correct'?" and argued, "Revealing the truth is simple. Whether through a state audit or by appearing at a hearing, the facts can be uncovered." Regarding the explanation that the CCTV records were deleted after 30 days, Lawmaker Seol said, "They can be restored at any time," and emphasized, "The National Defense Committee should hold a hearing and a state audit on this issue through an agreement between the ruling and opposition parties." He added, "I don't understand why such a simple issue is not being addressed," and criticized, "I can only speculate that it is because it is true that they are trying to avoid it."
Lawmaker Song Gap-seok of the same party also pointed out that regardless of whether 'Cheongong visited,' submitting an investigation of the working conditions at the time is necessary to have credibility.
On this day, voices criticizing the government's poor response to the North Korean drone invasion incident were also prominent, in addition to the Cheongong involvement allegations.
Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Young-bae strongly protested the fact that the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman only received a 'verbal warning' regarding the drone incident.
Recently, the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Combat Readiness Inspection Office decided to issue verbal and written warnings as disciplinary actions to about ten officers, including generals and field-grade officers, for delays in situation transmission, operation orders, and failure to shoot down the drone, based on the inspection results of the military's response operations to North Korean drones. Among them, the reprimand level for Joint Chiefs Chairman Kim Seung-gyeom was decided as a 'verbal warning,' which is weaker than a written warning.
Lawmaker Kim asked, "Where do verbal warnings and warnings fall under the Military Personnel Act (discipline)?" and Minister Lee replied, "They are not included in the disciplinary contents specified in the Military Personnel Act."
In response, Lawmaker Kim criticized, "Then, the disciplinary actions you reported today as 'follow-up measures' only included verbal warnings and warnings, which are not disciplinary matters under the Military Personnel Act, without listing the actual disciplined individuals. North Korean drones flew for nearly two hours over major metropolitan areas of South Korea and even near the Yongsan presidential office, a no-fly zone, and we don't even know what photos they took, yet there are no disciplinary actions under the Military Personnel Act."
Lawmaker Kim mentioned that the military authorities decided to award soldiers who first detected the abnormal trajectory of the North Korean drone, saying, "There are no disciplinary actions under the Military Personnel Act, but six people will be awarded. Is the Ministry of National Defense's official position on this drone incident to 'award'?" he strongly condemned.
Opposition party whip Lawmaker Kim Byung-joo also said, "For military operational discipline to be established, there must be rewards and punishments," and added, "If the Ministry of National Defense does not discipline, we will have no choice but to file criminal charges."
Minister Lee said, "If you understand the overall concept of the response operation to small drones, you will understand the issue of punishment as well," and added, "In conclusion, it can be seen as a failure because we could not shoot down a single North Korean drone, but the response system for small drones that our military has built so far was not optimized. Therefore, blaming one or two individuals at this point would rather be a disadvantage to those individuals."
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