Ha Tae-kyung: "We Will Thoroughly Investigate the North Korean Shooting Incident Through the National Assembly Audit"

"Government Seriously Violates Constitutional Duty to Protect Citizens"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, stated on the 6th regarding the shooting incident of the missing public official from Yeonpyeong Island by North Korea, “As a member of the National Assembly's Defense Committee and Intelligence Committee, I will thoroughly investigate the government's failure to fulfill its duty to protect the people through this national audit.”

On the same day, Ha said on Facebook, “The government's response to this incident seriously violated the constitutional duty to protect the people. Even though a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official went missing, the search was conducted poorly. Naturally, the government should have notified North Korea of this fact and sought cooperation. However, according to confirmation through the Ministry of National Defense and the Coast Guard, no measures were taken,” he said.

Ha also pointed out, “In particular, the government identified that the missing official was found alive on the North Korean side but did not make any demands for their return. The claim that there were no communication channels with North Korea was a false excuse. The Moon Jae-in administration had communication channels with the highest levels of North Korea just recently through letter exchanges. There was also an international maritime communication network established to prevent accidental clashes between military authorities, but it was not activated,” he criticized.

Ha said, “If the government had just once communicated to North Korea that the person they were holding was our citizen and demanded their return, it could have been enough to save them.”

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