Lee Jun-seok "Minister Kang's Husband's US Trip, No Problem"... Kim Nam-guk "Deviant Behavior Very Inappropriate"

Former Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, Lee Jun-seok. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Ju-hee] Former People Power Party Supreme Council member Lee Jun-seok argued on the 5th that the controversy over Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa's spouse's overseas trip "is not a major issue from a quarantine perspective."

Lee appeared on KBS Radio's 'Kim Kyung-rae's Strongest Current Affairs' that day and pointed out, "Rather, this is a time for us to reconsider the standards of quarantine in this regard."

He said, "If this person (Minister Kang's husband) went, quarantined in the U.S., and then observed the quarantine period properly upon returning to Korea, is this really a significant issue from a quarantine standpoint?" He added, "The public has been held to very strict standards, and because actions contrary to those standards are taken, such criticism arises. Now, the standards themselves need some adjustment."

In response, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Nam-guk, who appeared together, said, "It was very inappropriate as an individual's deviant behavior," and pointed out, "Weddings were postponed due to COVID-19, and although some weddings were held, there are friends who could not travel abroad. The reason for this is that everyone is refraining from what they want to do."

He continued, "The reason I act freely like this is because of concerns that such actions could pose risks to others' health or contribute to the spread of infectious diseases in our society, so people endure and exercise patience," adding, "That is why Korea's quarantine has been evaluated as successful, but in such circumstances, such individual deviant behavior itself is considered very inappropriate."

Earlier, Kang's spouse, Professor Emeritus Lee Il-byeong of Yonsei University, sparked controversy after departing for the U.S. on the 3rd to purchase a yacht despite the government's recommendation to refrain from overseas travel due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Regarding this, Minister Kang stated, "I feel sorry that such an incident occurred while the public is refraining from overseas travel and other external activities," but also responded, "(My husband) had planned this for a long time and postponed it repeatedly, so it was difficult to tell him to return."

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