Yoon Seok-yeol Visits Daegu: "Daegu Lockdown Is Foolish Crazy Talk"... Will His Remarks Get Harsher?

"If It Weren't for Daegu, a Rebellion Would Have Broken Out"

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who declared his candidacy for the presidential election, is greeting merchants at Seomun Market in Jung-gu, Daegu, on the afternoon of the 20th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who visited Daegu Dongsan Hospital, strongly criticized remarks from the ruling party during the early spread of COVID-19 suggesting that Daegu should be locked down, calling them "reckless crazy talk."

On the 20th, former Prosecutor General Yoon held a meeting with medical staff at Dongsan Hospital in Jung-gu, Daegu, stating, "Instead of supporting the efforts of medical staff and citizens to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Daegu, reckless crazy talk about locking down Daegu like Wuhan emerged, which I believe greatly hurt the pride of Daegu’s citizens." This appears to be a commendation of the hard work of Daegu residents and medical personnel who responded swiftly despite the early cluster infections during the COVID-19 outbreak.

In February last year, Hong Ik-pyo, then chief spokesperson of the Democratic Party of Korea, mentioned 'lockdown measures for Daegu and Gyeongbuk' as one of the countermeasures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during a briefing on the results of the party-government-office consultation, which sparked controversy and led him to resign from his spokesperson position.

At that time, Hong’s remarks were interpreted as potentially blocking all access to the region, similar to the 'Wuhan lockdown' in China, causing a stir. As the controversy did not subside, President Moon Jae-in personally clarified, saying, "It does not mean a regional lockdown," and visited Daegu. Lee In-young, then floor leader of the Democratic Party, also apologized, saying "We are sorry," as the party, government, and office worked to manage the situation.

Regarding this, former Prosecutor General Yoon said, "If the initial spread had not been in Daegu but in another region, orderly treatment and care would not have been possible, and probably a riot would have broken out," adding, "I deeply respect the people of this region who took pride and quietly did what was naturally required of them despite the hardships."

He continued, "Not only the doctors and nurses at Dongsan Hospital but many medical staff from Daegu gathered here and worked hard to treat COVID-19 and prevent its spread," adding, "Seeing them accept the government’s voluntary testing requests and respond in an orderly manner made me think that the people in the Daegu region are truly remarkable."

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