Tae Young-ho and Ji Sung-ho's Election: Did It Rattle Kim Jong-un? Yoon Gun-young Says "Defector Lawmakers Send a Strong Message to North Korea"

Democratic Party Lawmaker Yoon Geon-young Suggests Election Results Are Cause of North Korean Provocations

Tae Young-ho (left) and Ji Sung-ho (right), members of the United Future Party. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] On the 16th, Yoon Gun-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, participated as a discussant in the forum titled "Post-Corona and Korea Full Change" held at the National Assembly, stating, "The 180 seats given to the Democratic Party in the last general election raised expectations that a new path might open, but the election of a North Korean defector-origin lawmaker in the same election must have been a significant message from North Korea's perspective."

Yoon, a former head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination at the Blue House under the Moon Jae-in administration, has experience as a special envoy for North Korea. Regarding the 'North Korean defector-origin lawmaker' he mentioned, among the 21st National Assembly members, Tae Yong-ho of the United Future Party (first term, Seoul Gangnam-gap) and Ji Sung-ho (first term, proportional representation) are North Korean defectors.

Representative Tae is a former North Korean diplomat who served as a North Korean envoy in the UK and defected to South Korea. He was born in Pyongyang and is reported to have graduated from Pyongyang University of International Relations, North Korea's institution for training diplomats.

Representative Ji is known as a so-called North Korean "flower child" defector. At sixteen, while trying to obtain food, he was caught stealing coal from a train and had his leg crushed by the train. After being taken to the North Korean State Security Department and beaten for begging from Chinese people, he decided to defect. He is famously known as the "crutch defector."

Yoon has previously expressed critical views about defectors including these two lawmakers. On the 4th of last month, regarding the two lawmakers who raised rumors about Chairman Kim Jong-un's death or illness, he said, "When engaging in parliamentary activities, they would likely handle top-level intelligence, so there are genuine concerns about that."

Additionally, in a radio interview on the 9th, he referred to defectors involved in leaflet distribution activities toward North Korea as "people who left because they dislike that country (North Korea)," noting that "North Korea is extremely sensitive about this issue."

Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea [Image source=Yonhap News]

Among them, Representative Ji expressed strong feelings regarding Kim Yo-jong, the first deputy director of the North Korean Workers' Party, who on the 4th criticized the defector groups' leaflet sending to North Korea and mentioned defectors.

At a press conference with foreign reporters held at the National Assembly members' office building that day, Ji said, "There are 25 million people living in North Korea, and they also have the right to know. Shouldn't they know that a North Korean defector-origin flower child with a disability has become a lawmaker in South Korea?" He added, "Considering the North Korean people's right to know, (the leaflets) cannot be seen as a wrongful act."

Regarding the Ministry of Unification's review of legislation to forcibly stop leaflet distribution to North Korea, he criticized, "A North Korea policy focused solely on the North Korean regime has no hope."

He also said, "If we only block and do not operate separate channels to inform North Korean residents, it will draw criticism from the international community."

Meanwhile, on the 14th, the Rodong Sinmun published the full text of a statement by Kim Yo-jong, the first deputy director of the North Korean Workers' Party.

In the newspaper, Kim Yo-jong, under the title "The People's Punishment Cannot Be Stopped," said, "It seems the time has come to decisively break ties with the South Korean elements," adding, "We will soon take the next step in action. I have exercised the authority granted to me by the Chairman Comrade and the Party and State to instruct the relevant departments involved in anti-enemy operations to carry out the next step."

She continued, "Continuous and thorough retaliation is being executed," and "Now, the people will clearly see through a miserable spectacle how terrifying the people's punishment is."

She further stated, "Who would believe that things not done for hundreds of days through wordplay will be accomplished immediately?" and "According to the demands and will of the enraged people, our merciless retaliation is already underway, and we will thoroughly carry it out to the end as publicly declared to the world."

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