[Interview with Yeo Jeon-dae] Tae Young-ho: "I will correct the 'Moon administration's submissive North Korea policy'"

Entered the 21st National Assembly in 2016 after seeking asylum with family
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"By entering the leadership, I will play a major role in stopping pro-North Korean forces and spies from running rampant in the Republic of Korea and threatening national security, correcting the 'submissive North Korea policy' carried out during the past five years of the Moon Jae-in administration, and establishing a proper stance on North Korea."

Representative Tae Young-ho, who is running as a candidate for the Supreme Council member in the People Power Party's March 8 party convention, recently stated in an interview with Asia Economy, "I felt the need to raise my voice on pro-North Korean forces and North Korea issues within the ruling party leadership." He emphasized that he will become the ruling party's 'North Korea expert' responsible for the threatened security of the Republic of Korea.

Candidate Tae, a former North Korean diplomat, defected with his family in 2016 while serving as the charg? d'affaires at the North Korean embassy in London. Born in Pyongyang, he has no blood ties, regional ties, or academic ties but has actively engaged in legislative activities after entering the 21st National Assembly. His constituency is Gangnam Gap.

Tae Young-ho, member of the People Power Party. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

Regarding the vote on the arrest warrant for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, last month, Candidate Tae asserted, "There is no sanctuary before the law." He pointed out, "Even as the leader of the main opposition party, one cannot evade legal procedures," and added, "In the Republic of Korea, a country governed by the rule of law, it is natural to humbly accept the judgment of the law and sincerely cooperate with the investigation."

He continued, "If the request for the arrest warrant is an unprecedented political persecution as claimed by Lee and the Democratic Party, the court will rule not guilty," and added, "I hope they do not undermine the rule of law and approach the investigation with humility and sincerity."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He also spoke about the controversy that arose after visiting Jeju as the first schedule of the joint party convention speech. At the Jeju speech, Candidate Tae described the Jeju April 3 Incident as "an atrocity committed by Kim Il-sung," which provoked backlash from the bereaved families.

Candidate Tae expressed his sorrow, saying that in order to prevent tragedies like the Jeju April 3 Incident from happening again, the historical truth must be properly understood. He said, "Kim Dal-sam, Ko Jin-hee, and others who led the April 3 Incident later went up to North Korea and were honored as heroes before being buried in the Patriotic Martyrs' Cemetery," adding, "Kim Il-sung incited people daily through Pyongyang radio broadcasts to 'engage in a nationwide struggle.' The claim that there was no order from Kim Il-sung is absurd."

He further emphasized, "The April 3 Incident was a tragedy in modern history where many civilian victims occurred during the suppression of the armed uprising by the South Korean Workers' Party," and said, "Now is the time to honor the souls of those who suffered unjust sacrifices in the ideological armed conflict between left and right, and to heal the pain of the victims and their families." He added, "Acknowledging both that state violence was excessive and the theory of the South Korean Workers' Party uprising must coexist for historical lessons to be correctly passed down to future generations."

Candidate Tae targeted the Democratic Party, stating, "There can be no retreat before historical facts," and rebutted, "Denying historical facts, absolutizing one's own claims, and demonizing others' claims as outrageous remarks is not an intellectual attitude toward historical truth."