Choi Jae-sung: "66 Trillion Won for Ukraine War Reconstruction? Just for Domestic Promotion"

Former Blue House Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Choi Jae-sung KBS Radio Interview
"People are suffering from war... This is not a good message"

Choi Jae-sung, former Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Blue House, evaluated President Yoon Seok-yeol's visit to Ukraine as "a visit that took 27 hours round trip but yielded very little and rather involved several mistakes."

Earlier, on the 15th (local time), President Yoon held a summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and stated, "We will stand in solidarity with the spirit of 'live means to die, die means to live' (生則死 死則生)," adding, "We will jointly promote the Ukraine Peace Solidarity Initiative, which encompasses Korea's security, humanitarian, and reconstruction support."

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who made a surprise visit to Ukraine, is seen conversing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, on the 15th (local time). Photo by Yonhap News Agency, Office of the President

Former Secretary Choi appeared on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' and criticized the 'live means to die, die means to live solidarity' remark, saying, "We are not even parties to the war," and "Using such expressions only provokes and worsens relations with Russia."

He added, "Even if the visit was made, was it necessary to use such expressions? Then, ultimately, there is concern that we might be stepping into direct support of lethal weapons or following the demands of the U.S. in that regard."

Regarding President Yoon's remarks on participating in Ukraine's reconstruction, former Secretary Choi said, "I think the president considered that (post-war recovery support) mainly for domestic publicity," and criticized, "Talking about post-war recovery in a country still at war and announcing up to 66 trillion won is not a good message for Ukrainians who are suffering civilian casualties, fighting the war, and enduring hardship in that region."

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