Presidential Office: "The President's Mission Is to Confront Forces Supporting Threats to Citizens' Lives and Safety" (Comprehensive)

Opposition backlash: "Yoon did not mention specific forces or individuals... difficult to understand"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 20th, the Presidential Office emphasized, "In the current critical situation of national security, the president's and government's most important mission is to protect our liberal democratic system against those who sympathize with forces threatening the lives and safety of our people."

Lee Jae-myung, Deputy Spokesperson of the Presidential Office, said at a briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office in the afternoon, "According to Article 66 of the Constitution, the president is responsible for safeguarding the nation's independence, territorial integrity, continuity, and the Constitution."

President Yoon Suk-yeol previously stated at a luncheon meeting with out-of-parliament People Power Party district committee chairpersons, "It is impossible to cooperate with hostile anti-state forces," referring to the pro-Ju-sa-pa faction.

On the morning of the same day, during a door-stepping (brief Q&A on the way to work) at the Yongsan Presidential Office, President Yoon responded to the Democratic Party's backlash, saying, "Whether someone is pro-Ju-sa-pa or not is something they know well themselves. I was not targeting any specific individual," and added, "As the president is responsible for upholding the Constitution and national security, I responded as such because the topic came up."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Deputy Spokesperson Lee also explained, "If one sympathizes with liberal democracy, whether progressive or left-wing, cooperation and compromise are possible, but the pro-Ju-sa-pa faction that follows North Korea is neither progressive nor left-wing. The president's statement that cooperation with hostile anti-state forces is impossible comes from this understanding," adding, "We do not allow the freedom to destroy freedom."

The Democratic Party reacted to President Yoon's remarks the previous day, saying, "Could it be that the pro-North Ju-sa-pa the president mentioned is the Democratic Party? How many parties in the National Assembly can be subjects of cooperation? The top priority for cooperation is the main opposition party, the Democratic Party."

A Presidential Office official related to this stated, "The president did not mention any specific person or group. It is difficult to understand why such claims are made," and questioned, "Should we cooperate with forces that deny the liberal democratic system?"

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