Hwang Kyo-ahn: "Moon Administration Only Shifts Responsibility for 'Wuhan Pneumonia'... Where Is the Control Tower?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Liberty Korea Party, criticized the Moon administration on the 30th for being preoccupied with shifting responsibility regarding the novel coronavirus, known as 'Wuhan pneumonia.'

At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Hwang said, "When he was the opposition leader, President Moon Jae-in fiercely emphasized that the Blue House should be the control tower and that the president holds unlimited responsibility, but now that he is in power, he is showing incompetence."

He stated, "While the U.S. and Japanese governments repatriated their citizens via chartered flights, our initial plan to transport Korean residents from Wuhan was suddenly canceled," adding, "They provided 2 million masks but have not even dispatched a single chartered flight. I cannot understand why they are handling things this way."

Hwang criticized, "The Blue House confidently claimed it was the control tower, but now it does not even know whether the control tower is the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Ministry of Health and Welfare," and added, "Frontline medical staff are risking their lives to contain Wuhan pneumonia, yet the president unexpectedly hinted at reprimanding medical institutions."

He continued, "Is this the time to talk about reprimands to those who have to give up their livelihoods just because a Wuhan pneumonia patient visited?" and urged, "At a time when everyone should unite to overcome the crisis, the president is focusing on discipline first, which is wrong both in timing and content. Stop making showy moves to win public favor or morale and start working on practical matters."

Floor leader Shim Jae-cheol also said, "The speed of Wuhan pneumonia is faster than that of SARS. With quarantine gaps appearing everywhere, the health authorities’ overly lax initial response is being heavily criticized," adding, "North Korea has banned Chinese nationals from entering, but we have yet to decide on an entry ban. The government must prepare measures to completely block further spread, such as banning Chinese tourists from entering." Supreme Council member Cho Kyung-tae also raised his voice, saying, "We must completely ban Chinese nationals from entering and forcibly repatriate those who entered after the Wuhan pneumonia outbreak."

He also continued criticism regarding prosecution-related issues. Hwang said, "Yesterday, the prosecution collectively indicted 13 people, including former senior secretary Han Byung-do and former secretary Baek Won-woo," adding, "Numerous former and current Blue House senior secretaries and secretaries are consecutively receiving guilty verdicts or investigations. The reality of the Moon Jae-in administration’s state affairs manipulation gate has almost been fully revealed."

He added, "It is not an exaggeration to call the Moon Jae-in administration’s Blue House a crime command center," and said, "Now the president must answer to the people. The sitting president should not think of avoiding responsibility based on the rule that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted but should sincerely apologize."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.