Former President Moon: "We lost a lot because of Jamboree... The shame belongs to the people"

Posting on SNS... "Shame is the people's burden"
Ruling party denies gesture blaming previous government responsibility

Former President Moon Jae-in commented on the 2023 Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree, saying, "We lost a lot because of the Saemangeum Jamboree," and added, "Since people were unprepared, even the heavens did not help."

On the 13th, Moon posted on his Facebook, stating, "(We) lost national dignity and pride," and further remarked, "The shame has become the burden of the people."

Former President Moon Jae-in is giving a greeting at the '3rd Anniversary Event of Overcoming the Seomjin River Flood' held on the 8th in Yangjeong Village, Gurye-eup, Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

It appears that former President Moon wrote these words as a preemptive move to deny the ruling party and government's claims of 'responsibility of the previous administration.'

Moon also said, "The expectations of the people of Jeonbuk, who considered the event an excellent opportunity to promote Saemangeum to the world, stimulate economic development, and grow the underdeveloped regional economy, were in vain and only brought dishonor." He continued, "I hope this failure remains a bitter lesson, and that the Republic of Korea will rise again proudly," adding, "I offer my apologies and condolences as the president at the time of the event's bid to the disappointed citizens, Scouts from around the world, the people of Jeonbuk, and sponsoring companies."

Meanwhile, the People Power Party is asserting that the responsibility for the jamboree's disruption due to insufficient infrastructure lies not with the current government but with the Moon Jae-in administration and Jeollabuk-do.

Senior Spokesperson Yoo Sang-beom stated in a commentary on the 13th, "Since the event's bid was confirmed in August 2017, for about five years, the Moon administration and Jeonbuk Province failed to properly prepare infrastructure such as land reclamation, drainage, and convenience facilities, resulting in the 'jamboree disruption'."

Party leader Kim Ki-hyun also criticized strongly on Facebook, saying, "The Moon administration and Jeonbuk Province did nothing properly regarding land reclamation, infrastructure expansion, and convenience facilities for the event preparation," and added, "The Yoon Suk-yeol government barely managed to salvage the nearly ruined jamboree, yet the Democratic Party is blaming the government and calling it 'government-caused accident' and 'people’s tax money,' which is truly 'double standards'."

Floor Spokesperson Jeon Ju-hye also released a statement saying, "The Moon administration and Jeonbuk Province should have expanded infrastructure such as land reclamation and drainage facilities and prepared convenience facilities for participants," and warned, "Do not shift your responsibility onto others."

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