Ruling Party Rebuts Moon's Press Conference as 'Sophistry'... Also Points to "Honor Killing of Bereaved Families" (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Former National Security Office Chief Suh Hoon and former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won, among other security officials from the Moon Jae-in administration, stated at a press conference on the 27th that there was "no forced defection" related to the 'West Sea shooting' incident. Ruling party lawmakers rebutted this as "nonsense," with some criticizing it as "character assassination against the bereaved families."

Member of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, Tae Young-ho of the People Power Party, said, "They insist that there was no attempt to cover up the incident, but this is nonsense," adding, "President Moon Jae-in promised the late Lee Dae-jun’s son that 'all processes would be transparently disclosed,' yet after leaving office, he designated related incident materials as presidential records, blocking their release for 15 years."

Rep. Tae said, "Is this what Moon Jae-in administration officials mean by 'informing the public of the facts as they occurred'?" and added, "What former Director Park and former Chief Suh should have done today is not hold a press conference at the National Assembly but rather go down to Pyeongsan Village in Yangsan and demand that former President Moon lift the designation of presidential records."

Choi Chun-sik, a member of the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee from the People Power Party, also pointed out, "According to the notification sent by North Korea to our country three days after the disappearance of the late Lee Dae-jun, the North vaguely referred to him as 'a certain person from the Republic of Korea' rather than labeling him as a defector, describing him as a 'continuing illegal intruder' who did not respond," and added, "Even if there were words implying defection in the intercepted communications, these were intercepted during the North Korean military’s internal discussions interpreting Lee Dae-jun’s words as defection."

People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong wrote on his social network service (SNS), "The press conference was a repetition of excuses and shirking responsibility shown over the past few months," and called it "character assassination against the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries officials and the bereaved families."

Rep. Kwon said, "At the press conference, they argued that labeling the incident as 'defection' at the time was a burden for the Moon Jae-in administration, but now the Democratic Party is telling pathetic lies that cannot deceive even for a moment," adding, "At that time, the Moon administration manipulated the narrative as 'defection' to evade responsibility for failing to protect the people."

He continued, "Immediately after the incident, the Coast Guard tried to force a defection narrative by mentioning 'gambling debts.' According to the bereaved families, Democratic Party lawmaker Hwang Hee attempted to persuade them by saying, 'We will compensate you if you admit the defection.' Broadcaster Kim Eo-jun glorified the act of killing and burning the official as 'cremation,'" and criticized, "The Moon administration, the Democratic Party, and pro-Moon media coordinated in unison to force the defection narrative."

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