Kim Geun-sik to Woo Sang-ho: "Admitting Mistakes and Apologizing Should Come First"

Woo Sang-ho "Whether drifted away or defected to North Korea, how is the killing the regime's responsibility?"

Professor Kim Geun-sik of Gyeongnam University, chairman of the Seoul Songpa-byeong district of the People Power Party. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] On the 8th, Rep. Woo Sang-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea claimed regarding the North Korean government official shooting incident, "Whether he was swept away, defected to the North, or was killed there, how is that the responsibility of the administration?" In response, Professor Kim Geun-sik of Gyeongnam National University, chairman of the People Power Party's Songpa-byeong district in Seoul, criticized him.

In a post on his Facebook that day, Professor Kim pointed at Rep. Woo, saying, "It's not about whether a rescue was successful, but how sincerely efforts were made," and added, "It's not about whether the government official who was shot could have been saved, but whether there was a genuine effort to save the citizens of the Republic of Korea."

He said, "Even after failing to save the life, it's about how sincerely one mourned the death of an innocent citizen who was shot," and "even after failing to save the life, it's about how promptly, decisively, and sternly the North was held accountable and the truth was demanded," he pointed out.

Furthermore, Professor Kim criticized, "Even after the disappearance, there was no demand made to the North through the international maritime communication network, and even after knowing that the person was found by the North, the military just reported for three hours during the shooting," and "After receiving the shooting report, the president talked about peace at the military promotion ceremony, and even after the military officially announced it was the North's act, the president listened to an a cappella at the New Deal event, and only afterward did the spokesperson barely release the president's position."

He continued, "Moved by the North's 'sorry' notification, the president talked about peace again at the Armed Forces Day commemoration without a single word of protest or condemnation, and even now is just waiting to accept the North's joint investigation, and two days after expressing condolences to the son, is again talking about a declaration of the end of the war," he criticized.

Woo Sang-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is questioning Sang-hyuk Han, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, during the audit of the Korea Communications Commission by the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 8th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

He also said, "I am pointing out all the mistakes in this entire process," and "Claiming that they had no choice but to watch the senseless death is not something the government and ruling party, who should protect and defend the people, can say. It is a cowardly and pitiful excuse."

Finally, Professor Kim emphasized, "Can the president's irresponsibility, dereliction of duty, and even siding with the North after the shooting be justified by the excuse that the government official could not be saved? The first priority is to admit the mistake and apologize."

Earlier, Rep. Woo appeared on TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' that day and said, "It's regrettable that we couldn't rescue our citizen floating in the vast sea, but honestly, would a different administration have been able to rescue him?"

He pointed out, "How do you pinpoint the coordinates of a citizen floating in the sea?" and added, "I feel sorry and understand the family's grief, but at least those who are members of the National Assembly should seriously consider whether this was a problem that could have been solved if we were in power and handle the issue coldly and strictly."

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