Prime Minister Han Deok-su Calls Demand to Designate 'Dokdo Day' as National Holiday an "Inferior Diplomatic Policy"

"Must Be Extremely Cautious"

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo expressed a cautious stance on October 25 regarding calls to designate 'Dokdo Day' as a national commemorative day, stating that "we must be very careful."

Prime Minister Han made this remark in response to a related question from Yoon Sang-hyun, a member of the People Power Party, during a National Assembly interpellation session on diplomacy, unification, and security held on the 10th.

He explained, "Dokdo is effectively under our control, and diplomatically portraying Dokdo as a disputed territory is a very inferior diplomatic policy."

He added, "Anyone with a rational and diplomatic philosophy would think this way, and those who do not are irrational."

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is responding to a question from Park Ji-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, during a government-related political inquiry held at the National Assembly on the 9th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

In 2000, the private organization Dokdosuhodae named October 25 as Dokdo Day to commemorate the enactment of the Korean Empire's imperial decree on October 25, 1900, which specified jurisdiction over Dokdo.

Recently, Kim Jun-hyuk, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, held a press conference at the National Assembly announcing his intention to propose a bill to designate Dokdo Day as a national commemorative day.

Meanwhile, regarding the issue of leaflet distribution to North Korea, Prime Minister Han responded, "This issue must consider the Constitutional Court's decision emphasizing the guarantee of freedom of expression."

Instead, Prime Minister Han stated, "We are doing our best to manage the situation through communication with the organizations distributing leaflets to North Korea and cooperation with related agencies."

Regarding the criticism that distributing leaflets to North Korea violates the Aviation Safety Act, he said, "Since a police investigation is underway, we need to wait for the results," and added, "We will consider appropriate measures based on those results."