Lee Jae-myung Criticizes Yoon for Mentioning 'Anti-State Forces'... "Inciting Conflict Is Not the President's Role" (Summary)

Park Kwang-on "First time to label previous government policies as anti-state forces"
Woo Sang-ho "Even Trump, who pushed for the end-of-war declaration, was labeled anti-state forces"
Ha Tae-kyung "Anti-state forces and anti-state organizations are different... Presidential Office should actively explain"

The Democratic Party of Korea strongly opposed President Yoon Seok-yeol's criticism of the previous administration's push for a declaration to end the Korean War, labeling it as 'anti-state forces.' They argued that the president's remarks effectively define the Moon Jae-in government as anti-state forces, crossing a line that should not be crossed.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, criticized on social media (SNS) on the 29th, saying, "Superior war preparations, willingness to escalate conflicts, and distortion of the declaration to end the war are rhetoric befitting far-right YouTubers." He added, "Instead of dividing the people and inciting confrontation, I hope you protect peace and security on the Korean Peninsula with tangible achievements and results so that the people can feel reassured." He reiterated, "Instead of dividing the people and inciting confrontation, I hope you protect peace and security on the Korean Peninsula with tangible achievements and results so that the people can feel reassured."

After attending the 20th Regional Newspaper Day ceremony at the Jung-gu Press Center, Lee told reporters, "It is not the president's role to provoke confrontation and conflict for political gain," and added, "Going forward, there is a need to refrain from remarks that incite factional confrontations or stir up conflicts among the people." Regarding President Yoon's criticism of the declaration to end the war, he said, "Security that protects the lives and safety of the people is the president's most important role in the political dynamics," and stated, "Winning a war is indeed important. But more important is creating a situation where war is unnecessary ? true security is about making and maintaining peace."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Park Kwang-on, floor leader of the Democratic Party, said at the party's policy coordination meeting that day, "I earnestly want to say a word to President Yoon," mentioning, "President Yoon yesterday defined the previous Democratic Party government, which pursued a declaration to establish a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, as anti-state forces."

Earlier, at the founding anniversary event of the Federation of Korean Freedom Associations, President Yoon said, "Anti-state forces with distorted historical consciousness and irresponsible national views pleaded for lifting UN Security Council sanctions against the North Korean communist group that is advancing its nuclear armament and sang the chorus for a declaration to end the war that would dismantle the UN Command," adding, "It was a chorus for a declaration to end the war aimed at preventing the automatic activation of the UN Command and its forces if North Korea invades again."

Regarding this, Floor Leader Park said, "The public was shocked by the remarks," and added, "While policies on the Korean Peninsula have changed with administrations, this is the first time a president has labeled the previous government's policies as anti-state forces." He described the expression as "extreme and unacceptable," and introduced, "The Moon Jae-in administration's Korean Peninsula policy inherited the spirit of the Park Chung-hee administration's July 4th North-South Joint Declaration, the Roh Tae-woo administration's Basic Agreement on North-South Relations, Kim Dae-jung's peace policy on the Korean Peninsula, and the Roh Moo-hyun administration's October 4th North-South Joint Declaration. No citizen is unaware that these were earnest and desperate efforts to pass on a future of peace and prosperity to the next generation based on a peace regime and peace economy on the Korean Peninsula."

Park emphasized, "One of the core values required for the governance of the Republic of Korea is national unity," and expressed serious concern that "the president's remarks yesterday may be a complete denial of the spirit of national unity." He criticized, "Labeling the previous administration as anti-state forces by questioning policies that were implemented through constitutional and democratic procedures and with the consent of the people is in direct contradiction to the spirit of national unity."

Kim Sung-joo, senior deputy chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee, criticized at an even higher level. Kim said, "South Korea must not become an extreme society nor fall into hatred and madness," and criticized, "I believe President Yoon's speech yesterday opened that door." He said, "With that chilling speech yesterday, the Democratic Party has now become an anti-state organization," and accused, "Former President Moon Jae-in has become a spy, and citizens supporting the Democratic Party have become people seeking money and success." He continued, "It was a provocative speech inciting hatred that opened the door to a society of madness," and pointed out, "The more serious issue is that the stigma of 'if you are not on our side, you are the enemy' is being carried out in the name of freedom."

President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers a congratulatory speech at the 69th anniversary ceremony of the Korea Freedom Federation held at Jangchung Gymnasium in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 28th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Jeong Seong-ho, a Democratic Party lawmaker, appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and said regarding President Yoon's remarks, "They are very inappropriate and words that should never be said," adding, "If you call someone anti-state forces, wouldn't that be an anti-state organization under the National Security Act?" He criticized, "Those are words that should not be said, and then what about the current president who appointed the former president as the head of the Central District Prosecutors' Office and Prosecutor General? He has crossed the line many times over."

Woo Sang-ho, a Democratic Party lawmaker, said on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "President Yoon tried to criticize the Moon Jae-in government but ended up labeling it as anti-state forces, similar to how the Trump administration was labeled," adding, "While North Korea's nuclear armament and provocations must be responded to firmly, denying even the basic institutional framework to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula is going too far."

Meanwhile, Ha Tae-kyung, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, said on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "Some of our hardline right-wingers have even called anti-state forces spies, which can be interpreted legally, but that is not the case," adding, "What the presidential office wants to emphasize is that concerns about security and inter-state relations are understandable, but it is necessary to clearly show that anti-state forces are differentiated from anti-state organizations under the National Security Act." Ha also requested, "I hope the president clarifies that the strong remark of anti-state forces is about concerns for national security and not about viewing the previous government as a spy organization." This means that the term 'anti-state forces' used by President Yoon and 'anti-state organizations' under the National Security Act should be understood as having different meanings, and the presidential office should actively explain this.

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