Opposition: "President's Words Pose UN Security Council Risk"... Yoon Faces Crossfire Over 'Iran Remarks'

Opposition: "Does Not Align with the Purpose of 'Encouraging Soldiers'"
Ruling Party: "Not Saying Something Absurd"
Foreign Ministry: "Communicate with Iran" Making Every Effort to De-escalate

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] At the full meeting of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee held on the 17th, opposition party lawmakers launched a barrage of criticism over President Yoon Suk-yeol's remark that "the enemy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is Iran."

Cho Hyun-dong, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, tried to defuse the situation by saying, "It is unrelated to the relationship between Korea and Iran. The remark was made to encourage the troops," but Democratic Party lawmakers fiercely attacked, saying, "This is why there is a saying that 'the president's mouth is the biggest security risk,'" "Why would you say such a thing to encourage the troops?" and "He caused another incident."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Opposition: "Does not align with the purpose of 'encouraging troops'" / Ruling party: "It was not an absurd statement"

Democratic Party lawmakers sharply criticized the president's remarks as inappropriate. Woo Sang-ho, a Democratic Party lawmaker, said he could not understand the government's explanation that it was meant to encourage the troops. Woo questioned, "If you went to encourage the troops, wouldn't you say you appreciate their hard work? Don't you usually encourage them as patriots?" Woo criticized, "If you visit a specific country, you should focus on diplomacy with that country, and it is inappropriate to make remarks that could worsen relations with neighboring countries."

Another lawmaker from the same party, Cho Jung-sik, said, "No country in the world uses or has abolished the term 'main enemy,' but President Yoon resurrected a term that was no longer used during Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye's administrations," and directly attacked, "It was another incident caused by remarks that do not help our security or national interests at all."

Jin Jeong-seok, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is attending the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 16th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

However, Jeong Jin-seok, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, defended President Yoon's remarks as practically valid. Jeong said, "The people of the UAE see Iran as the greatest threat and hold a hostile perception. That's why we are dispatching troops to help the UAE." Jeong added, "They keep twisting the facts and making it seem like absurd remarks were made."

Lawmaker Tae Young-ho also commented, "If U.S. President Joe Biden told the U.S. Forces Korea that 'North Korea is South Korea's main enemy, so please fulfill your mission for the Korean people,' would the Democratic Party call that a gaffe by President Biden?" He argued, "Remarks made to encourage troops, not public statements, should not be twisted like this to sow discord with Iran."

Ministry of Foreign Affairs "Explained the intent to Iran... Remarks were to encourage troops" makes all-out efforts to defuse

Meanwhile, regarding the Iranian Foreign Ministry's request for an explanation of President Yoon Suk-yeol's remarks, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated on the 17th, "We believe Iran also understands the intent of our remarks well," and made efforts to defuse the situation.

On the morning of the same day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press release stating, "We explained to the Iranian side, and the intent was to encourage the troops," and during a regular briefing held by the spokesperson in the afternoon, clarified, "Our government clearly explained our position to Iran through diplomatic channels between Seoul and Tehran."

Spokesperson Lim said, "Diplomatic relations with individual countries are separate, and our president has never mentioned the relationship with Iran. Our government's will to develop relations with Iran remains unchanged." A Foreign Ministry official told reporters, "We believe the UAE side also sufficiently understands our government's true intentions," and added, "We explained our true intentions regarding the president's remarks, and we believe Iran also understands to some extent."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, on the 15th (local time), President Yoon visited the Ark Unit deployed in the UAE and said, "The security of our brotherly nation is our security," adding, "The enemy of the UAE, the most threatening country, is Iran, and our enemy is North Korea," which sparked controversy.

Nasser Kanaani, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said, "The Korean president's remarks show a complete lack of understanding of the historical ties between Iran and the Persian Gulf countries, including the UAE, and the rapid development of related relations," and said they are awaiting a response from the Korean Foreign Ministry. Kanaani particularly criticized President Yoon's remarks as "undiplomatic."

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