Kim Jae-won "Lee Jae-myung's physical information may have been perfectly collected and sent to Beijing"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, faced controversy after Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming made a remark during a dinner at the ambassador's residence, saying that "you will regret it if you don't bet on China." In response, Kim Jae-won, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, warned of the risk that Lee's physical information might have been collected by the Chinese side.

On the 14th, Kim said on YTN's "News King Park Ji-hoon" program, "Since he was a presidential candidate and is the leader of the opposition party, he will continue to be a potential presidential contender. In that case, all his physical information will be exposed," expressing his concerns.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Usually, when ambassadors meet party leaders, the ambassador often visits the National Assembly, but Lee went directly to the Chinese ambassador's residence in Korea, which has drawn criticism. Kim also pointed out the issue of "personal information exposure." He said, "A dinner at the residence means that all preparations are managed by the residence. For example, while eating, bodily secretions could be collected, and there is all kinds of information on the utensils, such as saliva."

He continued, "I don't know if he used the restroom, but if he did, even excrement could have been entirely collected and sent to China, probably to Beijing, so the possibility that his physical information was perfectly collected is very high. China is that kind of country," adding, "From my experience, even lower-level diplomats collect all sorts of information, so if China contacts Lee in the future, he could be exposed to various situations and his personality could be revealed."

Regarding Ambassador Xing's remarks, Kim said, "Personally, I have known Ambassador Xing since my time as a counselor, and we have been long-time friends. But after this incident, I thought I have to put aside our personal relationship and speak out. The resident ambassador should devote himself to strengthening the relationship between the host country, that is, the Republic of Korea government, and China’s home country, but the ambassador should not cause a scandal," criticizing the ambassador.

He added, "No matter how much personal personality the ambassador has, for something like this, he must have received instructions from the Chinese home country. Moreover, since the counterpart is an opposition leader who ran for president, he would naturally receive instructions from the home country, and this statement can be seen as coming from that process."

Regarding the Democratic Party's live broadcast of Ambassador Xing's remarks on YouTube, Kim said, "It seems they tried to use the Chinese ambassador to flaunt their status, but the Chinese ambassador, on the contrary, used that opportunity to make very strong remarks, effectively setting a trap. It seems that Lee and the Democratic Party do not realize the seriousness of the situation at all."

Within the ruling party, there is even talk of designating Ambassador Xing as an undesirable person and expelling him. Kim said, "If we expel the Chinese ambassador over this issue, naturally, our ambassador in Beijing would also be expelled, which would further strain relations between the two countries and could lead to a breakdown in dialogue," adding, "Even in the current situation, the basic premise that we must still maintain good relations with China is necessary."

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