Yoo Seung-min Criticizes Yoon Over 'Itaewon Responsibility' and 'MBC Boarding Ban' (Comprehensive)

Posting 3 SNS Posts a Day Criticizing Yoon
Lee Jun-seok Also Posts on SNS After 10 Days Saying "The Weight of Freedom"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Yoo Seung-min, a former lawmaker considered one of the frontrunners for the ruling party's next leadership, raised his voice saying that President Yoon Seok-yeol should take responsibility for the Itaewon accident, asking, "Are you not afraid of public sentiment?" He also criticized President Yoon sharply over MBC's ban on boarding the presidential aircraft.

On the 10th, Yoo posted on his social network service (SNS), "Where has President Yoon, who was moved by Truman's maxim and repeatedly emphasized the 'nation's unlimited responsibility for public safety,' disappeared to?"

This was aimed at President Yoon, who remains silent amid calls for the dismissal of Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

Yoo referred to the maxim on President Truman's desk, "The buck stops here," saying, "During the previous administration, I criticized former President Moon Jae-in's extreme irresponsibility and detachment from reality by quoting Truman's maxim. However, a feast of fine words is useless. The issue is not words but action."

President Yoon is also known to favor this maxim. The sign, gifted by President Biden, is placed on the desk in his Yongsan office.

Yoo also mentioned Chief Presidential Secretary Kim Dae-gi's remark that "changing ministers or chiefs every time an incident occurs is backward," questioning, "'What is 'modern society' and what is 'backward'? How can the Itaewon tragedy, where 156 people died in the heart of Seoul, be considered an 'incident that happens every time'?" He added, "'The sign that says 'I take full responsibility' has become an empty phrase."

He said, "The Yongsan Police Station should be held appropriately accountable for its mistakes. But if this is used to cut off responsibility and shift blame onto the police officers and firefighters who worked desperately on the front lines, which citizen would accept that?" He also criticized the ruling party, saying, "If you are the People Power Party, you should stand on the side of the people and not flatter power because of petty nomination threats."

He also shared a media column on another SNS post titled "The Investigation of the Fire Chief is an Insult to Dedication."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He also criticized separately on SNS the presidential office's refusal to allow MBC to board the presidential aircraft during the recent Southeast Asia tour. Yoo quoted President Yoon's words, "'The tour is for national interest,'" and countered, "There is a national interest more important than the tour. It is protecting the 'freedom of the press' and 'freedom of expression' guaranteed by Article 21, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea."

He said, "Isn't freedom the constitutional value President Yoon has emphasized the most? Among freedoms, freedom of speech is the foremost freedom," adding, "Refusing MBC to board the presidential aircraft for the tour is a decision by the president himself that damages the constitutional value of freedom."

Yoo referred to President Yoon's mention of MBC's controversial vulgar language report, saying, "If this report is a distortion of the truth, it is already a reported case, so legal responsibility can be held against MBC depending on the results of the prosecution and police investigation," and added, "'Freedom is the right to say what you do not want to hear,' as George Orwell said, and the essence and definition of this freedom do not change."

Yoo, classified as non-Yoon (非尹), is leading the opinion polls among the next ruling party leadership candidates. Meanwhile, on the same day, former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok also indirectly criticized the presidential office's ban on MBC boarding the presidential aircraft through SNS after ten days, saying, "'Freedom' is a word that carries simplicity, weight, and difficulty."

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