Hong Joon-pyo "No reaction to 2008 Dokdo visit... Japan is absurd"

Hong Joon-pyo, Mayor of Daegu, sharply criticized Japan's protest against the Dokdo landing performance by Jeon Yong-gi, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, calling it "absurd."

On that day, through his social media (SNS), he said, "At a time when Korea-Japan relations are finally moving toward comprehensive cooperation, Japan's behavior is truly difficult to understand."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Mayor Hong recounted his experience in 2008 when, as the floor leader, he visited Dokdo by helicopter along with members of the National Defense Committee during a National Assembly defense audit, saying, "At that time, it was being discussed to station the Marine Corps, not the police, on Dokdo. There was no reaction from Japan then." It is truly ridiculous that a neighboring country like Japan takes issue when our own country's lawmakers visit our land."

He pointed out, "When Putin visited the Northern Territories, what attitude did the Japanese political circles show?" and added, "Isn't this kind of diplomatic attitude a glimpse into Japan's flawed mentality of kowtowing to big countries while looking down on our country as a colony that was once occupied?"

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