Kim Byung-min: "Report omission is not a simple issue but a matter of trust"

Kim Byung-min, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, pointed out that the issue related to the 'omission of the report on the joint performance request of BLACKPINK and Lady Gaga,' which is cited as the background for the resignation of Kim Sung-han, the National Security Office chief of the Presidential Office, is not simply a performance issue but a matter of trust.

On the 30th, on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' Supreme Council member Kim said, "This is not simply a matter of holding a performance, but a matter of trust as it is an event commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Korea-US alliance, where the President and the First Lady can cooperate together."

Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, and Joo Ho-young, floor leader, along with other party leadership, are attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 27th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Earlier, some media reported that the repeated omission of reports on the joint performance request of BLACKPINK and Lady Gaga, proposed by Dr. Jill Biden, was a decisive factor in Kim's resignation. However, there are also criticisms that replacing the National Security Office chief solely due to report omissions is inappropriate.

Regarding this, Supreme Council member Kim said, "If the issue is mishandled at the working level, trust between the two leaders could be broken, and what should be achieved through the Korea-US summit is not cultural exchange but substantial economic security outcomes." He added, "If such things go wrong, trust at the working level could be fractured, leading to unintended consequences, so we must be very cautious going forward and keep these matters in mind to prevent such incidents."

He continued, "Looking at certain media reports, this is not just a simple one or two omissions, but based on this case, past issues have also been exposed where the reporting process was not properly conducted. Diplomacy and security concern matters beyond the livelihood of the Korean people?they are matters of life and death, and even small mistakes cannot be tolerated in these serious affairs. Therefore, it is necessary to examine even the undisclosed details within this issue."

There are also talks that the replacement of the National Security Office chief could lead to changes in Foreign Minister Park Jin, Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, and Unification Minister Kwon Young-se. If this happens, naturally, attention will focus on what roles these politician-turned-ministers will take within the party ahead of the general election.

However, Supreme Council member Kim drew a line, saying this is 'just a matter of media interest.' He said, "All media interest is always about when politician-turned ministers return to the party. This discussion came up again last December," adding, "Before the party convention, there were talks about Minister Won Hee-ryong and Minister Kwon Young-se returning to prepare for the convention. Even Minister Han Dong-hoon of the Ministry of Justice was rumored to be going directly. But as time passes, we see that these are not the positions of the party or the cabinet but ultimately just media interests."

He added, "In any case, the possibility of reshuffling politician-turned ministers is always open in every administration," and "With about a year left until the general election, during this period, each will perform their roles according to the political timelines of politicians." Regarding the theory of Minister Han being drafted, he said, "It is inappropriate to mention Minister Han, who is currently serving as the Minister of Justice, being summoned to the political arena."

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