'"What Difference Does It Make from Lee Wan-yong?"... Opposition Criticizes 3.1 Movement Speech as "Pro-Japanese True Colors"'

"Commemorative Speech Denying the Spirit of Resistance and the Founding Ideology"

The floor leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea criticized President Yoon Seok-yeol's March 1st Independence Movement Day commemorative speech as a "colonial perspective that justifies Japanese imperial rule."

Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, stated at the party's policy coordination meeting on the 2nd, "The president's March 1st speech was truly shocking," and added, "I cannot understand the difference between the words of the traitor Lee Wan-yong and President Yoon."

In his speech at the 104th anniversary of the March 1st Movement the previous day, President Yoon said, "Today, 104 years later, we must reflect on our past when we lost our national sovereignty and suffered because we were not properly prepared for changes in world history." He also described Japan as "having transformed from a militaristic aggressor in the past to a partner that shares universal values with us and cooperates in security, economy, and global agendas."

In response, Floor Leader Park criticized, "The president's speech denies the noble spirit of resistance and the founding ideals of the Republic of Korea, which are explicitly stated in the preamble of the Constitution, on the day when the entire nation resisted Japanese colonial rule."

Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Policy Coordination Meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 2nd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

He further criticized the Yoon administration's diplomatic policy toward Japan, saying, "There is no solution anywhere for the unresolved past history, yet only the Yoon administration desperately pretends not to know this and talks about a cooperative partner," and added, "Ultimately, through this speech, the Yoon administration's submissive diplomacy toward Japan has only been reaffirmed."

Kim Seong-hwan, chairman of the Policy Committee, also criticized the March 1st speech, saying, "It even revealed a pro-Japanese nature," and pointed out, "The statements of the traitor Lee Wan-yong, who argued that since we have no power, it is right to benefit from Japan, and those of Jeong Jin-seok, chairman of the People Power Party Emergency Committee, and President Yoon share the same line of thinking."

He continued, "Japan still calls Dokdo 'Takeshima' and does not give up its claim to the territory, has never properly acknowledged or apologized for the issues of forced labor and comfort women during Japanese colonial rule, and dreams again of becoming a military power," expressing concern by saying, "I worry about the future of Korea-Japan relations."