Presidential Office Targets Jeong Eui-yong and Democratic Party: "Cooperate with Investigation, Not Political Offensive"

Choi Young-beom Chief "Claim of No Defection Intent is Nonsense"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 17th, the Presidential Office criticized the controversy surrounding the repatriation of North Korean fishermen, stating, "What the opposition party and related parties from the previous administration should do is not political attacks but sincerely cooperate with the investigation to respond to the public's demand to reveal the truth."

Choi Young-beom, the Chief Public Relations Officer, said at a briefing held at the Yongsan Presidential Office in the afternoon, "It is a serious problem to label the North Korean fishermen as bizarre murderers without a proper investigation. Naturally, our government agencies should have conducted a thorough investigation according to our legal procedures before drawing conclusions."

Choi's briefing was a rebuttal to former National Security Office Chief Jeong Eui-yong, who served under President Moon Jae-in. Jeong had issued a statement titled "Position on the Expulsion of Heinous Criminals" through the office of Yoon Gun-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, describing the North Korean fishermen as "unprecedentedly bizarre murderers" and stating that "they had no intention of defecting to South Korea from the beginning."

Regarding this, Choi said, "The claim that they had no intention to defect is also a sophism," and questioned, "Then why was the handwritten letter of intent to defect by these individuals ignored?"

He added, "The essence of this matter is that the North Korean fishermen, who should have been accepted by the Republic of Korea and handled according to our laws, were sent back to the brink of death as the North demanded."

He continued, "Was the report to the National Assembly made reluctantly only after the field commander's text message report was exposed to the media?" and questioned, "If it was such a proper matter, why was the normal command chain ignored, and why did the deputy director of the National Security Office receive a direct report via text message from a field-grade officer without the knowledge of the Minister of National Defense?"

Furthermore, he said, "Special investigations or state audits cannot be avoided if the ruling and opposition parties agree, and there is no reason to avoid them. However, I wonder if the opposition party believes that they can distort the truth because they hold the majority of seats."

He emphasized, "I believe that while the eyes and ears of the people can be temporarily blinded, the truth cannot be covered up forever."

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