Eonju Lee: "President Moon Stirred Anti-Japanese Sentiment... Suddenly Mentioned Improving Relations"

"Moon Administration Brought Pro-Japanese Frame Only During Election Seasons"
"Strategic Smell to Capture Centrist Votes"

Lee Eon-ju, preliminary candidate of the People Power Party running for the Busan mayoral by-election / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Lee Eonju, a preliminary candidate from the People Power Party running in the April Busan mayoral by-election, strongly criticized President Moon Jae-in for mentioning "cooperation and future development between South Korea and Japan" in his "102nd Anniversary of the March 1st Movement Commemorative Speech," saying, "I am filled with anger."

On the 2nd, Lee wrote on his Facebook, "President Moon, who has long incited anti-Japanese sentiment among the people, suddenly mentioned improving relations with Japan," expressing his criticism.

He continued, "He said he would join hands for the future without any visible measures or actions to support sincerity," and pointed out, "It is really unexpected."

Lee explained, "The Moon administration brought up the pro-Japanese frame only during elections," adding, "They ignored conventions and international treaties and only carried out political maneuvers aimed at winning elections."

He further noted, "As a result, South Korea has been stigmatized as an untrustworthy country not only by its blood ally, the United States, but also by the international community including Japan. It is a shameful matter beyond words."

President Moon Jae-in delivers a commemorative speech at the 102nd March 1st Movement Anniversary Ceremony held at Tapgol Park in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 1st. / Photo by Yonhap News

Regarding President Moon's mention of "South Korea-Japan cooperation," Lee claimed, "This remark smells of political calculation aimed at capturing the votes of the moderate electorate ahead of the election," and argued, "As South Korea-Japan relations have deteriorated to their worst state, the dissatisfaction of companies and citizens doing business with Japan has reached its peak, so it was judged necessary to provide 'lip service' to soothe their discontent."

He added, "This kind of governance is the essence of the activist faction," emphasizing, "Neither national administration nor municipal governance should be entrusted to those from the activist faction. If entrusted once more, it is obvious that it will lead to ruin."

Meanwhile, on the previous day (the 1st), President Moon attended the 102nd Anniversary of the March 1st Movement commemorative ceremony held at Tapgol Park in Jongno-gu, Seoul. In his commemorative speech, President Moon emphasized, "We will not stop efforts for cooperation and future development between South Korea and Japan," and stated, "Our government is always ready to sit down and talk with the Japanese government."

President Moon said, "The March 1st Independence Movement was a movement in which the entire nation participated to restore the lives of the people from colonial exploitation," but also added, "The purpose of our ancestors' declaration of independence was not to hate or exclude Japan, but to correct the relations between countries and achieve peace in East Asia and the world."

He continued, "Over the past several decades, South Korea and Japan have enhanced competitiveness together based on a division of labor structure," emphasizing, "Cooperation between the two countries benefits both and contributes to stability and shared prosperity in Northeast Asia."

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