Lee In-young "Did Not Know North Korea's Jo Seong-gil Would Be Publicized... Not for Political Use"

"Learned of Entry Through Media Reports"
"Ordered Investigation into North Korea Information Leak Circumstances"

Minister of Unification Lee In-young is delivering opening remarks at the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee during the National Assembly audit of the Ministry of Unification and others held on the 8th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Lee In-young, Minister of Unification, stated on the 8th that he was not informed in advance about the disclosure of the entry of Cho Seong-gil, former North Korean charg? d'affaires to Italy.

During the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's audit of the Ministry of Unification on the same day, in response to a question from Cho Tae-yong of the People Power Party asking, "Did you know in advance that the fact of Cho's entry into South Korea would be made public?" Minister Lee replied, "I was not informed in advance about whether it would be disclosed. I also learned about it through the news."

He also denied allegations that the government intentionally leaked information on North Korea for political purposes.

Cho Tae-yong, a member of the People Power Party, confronted Minister Lee, asking, "Is the disclosure of Cho's entry a leak or an intentional disclosure?"

Minister Lee responded, "Our government does not intentionally or politically use such information, unlike some media reports."

Kim Ki-hyun, a member of the same party, said, "When an issue unfavorable to the ruling party arises, it gets disclosed," adding, "This inevitably leads to controversy that it is a diversion or a tactic to change the situation." He continued, "Since the Ministry of Unification does not clearly explain and lets it fade away, suspicions can only intensify," and claimed, "The conviction that the suspicion is the truth inevitably grows."

When Kim asked whether Minister Lee had ordered an investigation into the leak's circumstances, Lee said, "Of course, I believe that is being done," adding, "There are situations where it is not possible to clearly confirm the facts."

During this process, Jeon Hae-cheol of the Democratic Party of Korea, who also serves as the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, supported Minister Lee, saying, "The claim that this matter was reported with political intent is truly absurd."

Jeon added, "Continuing to assert that national agencies were involved in the reporting process or that there was intent only causes unnecessary confusion," and said, "I hope such discussions are restrained at least within the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee."

Recently, it was revealed belatedly through media reports that Cho, who had disappeared in Rome 15 months ago and was believed to have defected to a third country, is actually in South Korea. This has exposed the safety of Cho's family, including his daughter in North Korea, to danger. Tae Young-ho of the People Power Party also requested restraint in related reporting.

Minister of Unification Lee In-young attended the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee hearing on the 8th for the government audit of the Ministry of Unification and other agencies, and is seen talking with Kim Young-ho, the Democratic Party's secretary./Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Meanwhile, regarding the open letter written by the son of the government official who was shot on Soyeonpyeong Island in the West Sea, Minister Lee said, "I fully understand the heart of a son who lost his father," adding, "I believe the president will establish policies appropriately after accurately confirming the circumstances under which this incident occurred."

Regarding reports by some media that Minister Lee arrived at the Blue House an hour later than other participants during the emergency security ministers' meeting held in the early morning of the 23rd last month about the North Korean government official shooting incident, he denied, saying, "It seems to be a false report."

When Rep. Cho asked, "Did you originally contact around 11 o'clock but arrived late?" Minister Lee replied, "No," and added, "I understand that the meeting was originally scheduled for 1 a.m."

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