Joo Ho-young: "Yoo Si-min's remarks are the worst of the worst... Daegu lockdown must have been discussed by the party, government, and Blue House"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Joo Ho-young, a member of the Future United Party, criticized Yoo Si-min, chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, for his remarks related to the mayor of Daegu amid the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), calling them "the worst of the worst." He also suggested that the 'Daegu lockdown' remarks, which led to the resignation of Hong Ik-pyo, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, were likely discussed within the ruling party, government, and Blue House.

On the 27th, Joo appeared on YTN Radio's 'Noh Young-hee's Start of the Morning' and said, "On the ground, Shincheonji-related facilities are being forcibly closed and thoroughly investigated with utmost effort as soon as they are identified, so this should not be exploited for other political gains," emphasizing this point.

Earlier, Chairman Yoo had stated on a YouTube broadcast, comparing the Gyeonggi region, "The Daegu-Gyeongbuk area has neither closed facilities nor enforced administrative power to secure the list of believers," adding, "It seems they have no intention of diligently preventing COVID-19."

Joo described Yoo's comments as "the worst of the worst," analyzing, "This government, out of consideration for China, ignored experts' opinions and did not take measures such as banning Chinese entry. As public criticism grew louder, they tried to shift the responsibility elsewhere and instead spouted absurd arguments."

He also stressed that the spread of COVID-19 in Daegu was due to the government's incompetence. He said, "It has been more than ten days since reports of mask shortages surfaced, yet not a single mask has been properly supplied," adding, "Our country's daily mask production is 12 million, but over the past five days, more than 5 million masks have been sent to China, and some are being hoarded. The frustration over even this not being properly managed is immense."

He continued, "Locally, people say, 'Is this even a country? They criticized former President Park Geun-hye for the seven hours during the Sewol ferry disaster, so what has President Moon Jae-in done in a month?'" He added, "Moreover, there is much anger over the 'Parasite' Jjapaguri party held on the 20th, after deaths and confirmed cases began to surge on the 18th, where they laughed heartily."

Regarding the Daegu lockdown issue, he criticized, "It was like stabbing a dagger into the hearts of the desperate, confused, and angry citizens. Lockdown should be imposed on entry from China, not on Daegu. Yet they made the absurd decision to lock down Daegu."

Joo said, "The Democratic Party spokesperson tried to evade responsibility by saying 'the media misreported it' and resigned to manage the situation, but since it was a briefing on the ruling party, government, and Blue House meeting, it is presumed that the Daegu lockdown was discussed there," adding, "Therefore, this is viewed more seriously, and it is believed that the ruling party, government, and Blue House failed to take proper measures, ignored experts' opinions, and tried to do something misguided, which was then stopped."

He analyzed that the nearly one million petitioners calling for the impeachment of President Moon Jae-in reflect the public's anger. He said, "The impeachment push led by floor leader Shim Jae-cheol was more related to the Ulsan mayoral election than COVID-19," adding, "The current surge in numbers is an expression of anger over the government's failure to immediately ban all entries from China and mobilize all national resources to prevent the spread."

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