Ha Tae-kyung: "Yoon's 'Anti-State Forces' Remark Could Be Misunderstood as Supporting Park In-hwan's Statement"

President Yoon Suk-yeol said, "Anti-state forces with distorted historical awareness and irresponsible national views have been singing the praises of the declaration of the end of the war," leading to analysis that he was targeting the Moon Jae-in administration. Meanwhile, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, expressed concern, saying, "It could be seen as practically endorsing Chairman Park In-hwan of the Police System Development Committee's 'spy' remarks."

On the 29th, Ha said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "This line must be clearly drawn. The strong statement about anti-state forces that the president is making is a concern about national security, not an assertion that the previous government was a spy force. I hope this is clarified."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon made these remarks during a congratulatory speech at the 69th anniversary founding ceremony of the Korea Freedom Federation the day before. However, these remarks could be mistakenly seen as endorsing Chairman Park's recent statement that "former President Moon Jae-in is a spy." Ha said, "I see this as a coincidental timing, a coincidence, but it can serve as a kind of signal to the conservative camp. 'Isn't this practically endorsing Chairman Park's spy remarks?'"

He added, "Some of our hardline right-wingers say anti-state forces mean spies, so it can be interpreted legally that way, but that's not the case," and said, "Concerns about security and national relations are understandable, but it is necessary to clearly show that anti-state forces are distinct from this (spies)."

The Democratic Party reacted angrily to President Yoon's remarks and even accused him of being part of the far-right community 'Ilbe.' Ha said, "Others may criticize, but the Democratic Party calls us pro-Japanese traitors. Isn't that a more extreme expression?" He added, "It is not desirable for politics to become so confrontational like this."

Ha also analyzed the background of the remarks, saying, "(President Yoon) seems to have made the remarks despite the risk of conflict," and "Calling for the lifting of UN sanctions, turning South Korea into a country of conspiracy theories?these things are shaking the roots of South Korea as a free and civilized country."

In response to the host's question about whether the remarks were made to rally his support base, Ha said, "Politically, in terms of expansion for us, I’m not sure," and added, "Right now, the president seems very concerned about security. Recently, when we launched a satellite, North Korea also launched a counter-fire but failed. Then they do something else to harass us. There is such concern, and there may also be intelligence."

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