Kim Ki-hyun Downplays ROK-US Summit... "Excessive 'Gyeongangbuchoe'"

"Vaccine diplomacy is nothing more than receiving a promissory note with an uncertain fulfillment date"

Kim Ki-hyun, Acting Party Leader and Floor Leader of the People Power Party, is attending the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 24th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] The People Power Party criticized the Blue House and the ruling party, which praised the recent Korea-US summit as the 'best achievement,' calling it a 'misinterpretation.'

Kim Ki-hyun, acting leader of the People Power Party and floor leader, stated at the emergency committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 24th, "The Blue House and the ruling party praised the summit as the best trip and the best meeting," adding, "This is an excessive misinterpretation."

He expressed disappointment over the failure to secure the level of COVID-19 vaccines that the public had expected. Acting leader Kim said, "Apart from vaccine support for 550,000 South Korean troops, there were no concrete achievements," and criticized, "Before visiting the US, there were many talks about resolving South Korea's vaccine shortage, and especially our companies announced a $44 trillion direct investment plan in the US, but there were no tangible results. In this regard, vaccine diplomacy was nothing more than a promissory note with promises of uncertain fulfillment."

Acting leader Kim also compared Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan with President Moon Jae-in. He pointed out, "This is comparable to Prime Minister Suga, who secured 100 million vaccine doses during his visit to the US a month ago."

Additionally, he evaluated that the vaccine diplomacy team dispatched by the People Power Party contributed to the summit's achievements. Acting leader Kim emphasized, "The People Power Party has consistently advocated for vaccine partnerships for a long time, and to ensure these achievements bear fruit, we will continue to mobilize all our capabilities."

At the emergency committee meeting that day, Representative Kim Mi-ae also said, "I do not intend to belittle the agreement to establish a global vaccine partnership and the vaccine support for 550,000 South Korean troops at the Korea-US summit," but added, "However, compared to the $44 trillion investment, it is not something to boast about."

Representative Kim further stated, "In a situation where public anxiety about vaccines is very high, the lack of progress in negotiations for early supply of Pfizer and the introduction of Moderna and Janssen vaccines in the second quarter remains a deep regret. Also, saying that the no-mask summit made you feel better does not provide any comfort to the suffering people. Before making such remarks, I urge the President to personally oversee all matters such as early vaccine supply and side effect management to ensure there are no setbacks in achieving herd immunity."

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