Lee Jun-seok: "President Yoon, who skipped the National Assembly opening ceremony, is truly peculiar"

"Cold and Hot Baths Back and Forth... Hope for Consistency in Diplomatic Line"

There is an interpretation that President Yoon Suk-yeol avoided attending the opening ceremony of the 22nd National Assembly because he felt burdened by informal meetings with the Speaker of the National Assembly, party leaders, and floor leaders. In response, Lee Jun-seok, a member of the Reform New Party, directly criticized, "Looking at the situation now, the president is the most peculiar. What kind of politics makes it difficult even to meet the leaders of both ruling and opposition parties?"

On the 5th, Lee said on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "The aides should have insisted that President Yoon must attend the opening ceremony no matter what, even if they had to lie down to block him."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is giving a greeting at a dinner hosted on the 2nd at Sangchunjae, the Blue House, inviting U.S. federal senators and their spouses. [Provided by the Presidential Office. Resale and DB prohibited]
zjin@yna.co.kr [Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding Chief Secretary to the President Jeong Jin-seok's statement that "I recommended not attending the opening ceremony," Lee said, "I don't believe it. It's a tearful presidential shield (defense)," and evaluated, "The Chief Secretary took responsibility to lessen the criticism directed at the president." He added, "Jeong served as the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. He is not someone who would be unaware of how humiliating and indicative of a lack of cooperative intent the absence from the opening ceremony is."

Jeong previously said at a staff meeting held in the auditorium of the Yongsan Presidential Office, "How can I tell the president to go to the National Assembly where mockery, jeers, and verbal abuse against the president are rampant?" and "Until the National Assembly regains reason and normalizes, I cannot tell the president to go there."

Lee also commented on President Yoon attending a dinner with the U.S. Senate delegation instead of the opening ceremony, saying, "I wonder how much the senators laughed," and "They must have been briefed by their aides and thought, 'He didn't go to the opening ceremony during the day but is having dinner with us at night. What kind of person is he?'" He further expressed concern, "Especially in diplomacy, the president should show a consistent image, but if he keeps switching between cold and hot stances like in domestic politics, his trustworthiness and credibility will decline."