Yoon's 'Preemptive Strike on North Korea' Remarks Heavily Criticized by Democratic and Justice Parties: "Is Diplomacy and Security a War Game?"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 11th, the Democratic Party of Korea and the Justice Party fiercely criticized Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, who mentioned 'preemptive strike' as a countermeasure against North Korea's nuclear missile provocations, saying, "Is diplomacy and security a war game?"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is answering questions from the press after holding a New Year's press conference on the direction of national governance at the Grandfather Factory Cafe in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, on the 11th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

That afternoon, the Justice Party criticized in a briefing, "Candidate Yoon's remarks are a dangerously reckless statement indicating a willingness to go to war in response to North Korea's missile launches."

Kim Chang-in, spokesperson for the Justice Party's presidential campaign committee, referred to Yoon's response during a New Year's press conference Q&A session earlier that day, where he said, "There is no way to stop it except a kill chain preemptive strike" in response to a question about North Korea's missile launches. Kim explained, "The kill chain is one axis of the 'Korean-style 3-axis system,' which the Ministry of National Defense has promoted as a core strategy to respond to North Korea's nuclear and weapons of mass destruction threats through the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations," adding, "It means detecting signs of North Korea's nuclear and missile launches and conducting a preemptive strike."

He further pointed out, "The presidential candidate of the main opposition party has openly declared that he could preemptively attack North Korea," and criticized, "He is speaking emotionally and impulsively on diplomatic issues."

He continued, "This is an irresponsible and thoughtless remark lacking the weight expected of a presidential candidate," and condemned, "Diplomacy and security are not a war game."

The Democratic Party of Korea also joined in criticizing candidate Yoon.

Choi Ji-eun, spokesperson for the Democratic Party's presidential campaign committee, said in an afternoon briefing, "No leader, domestically or internationally, has ever publicly and directly mentioned the theory of a preemptive strike against North Korea like this," warning, "A preemptive strike against North Korea on the Korean Peninsula, where North and South Korea are confronting each other, is an extremely dangerous scenario with a high possibility of escalating from a localized conflict to a full-scale war."

She added, "Such remarks could put all citizens in danger," and urged, "As a political leader, he should immediately retract these dangerous remarks he has made."

Yoon Ho-jung, floor leader of the Democratic Party, also criticized at a parliamentary meeting held that afternoon, saying, "I cannot help but be surprised at such a seriously flawed level of awareness." He emphasized, "If he has patriotism for the Republic of Korea and does not want to cause public anxiety, he should appropriately retract remarks that lead our people, the 70 million nation, toward war."

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