People Power Party Defense Committee Launches Full-scale Attack Over Jeong Dongyoung's Guseong Remarks: "Negative Impact on Security Growing"

Government and Ruling Party Absent from Full Session
Kang Daesik Criticizes "Irresponsible Attitude Toward the People"

Members of the People Power Party on the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly have been intensifying their criticism over Minister of Unification Jeong Dong-young's remarks regarding the North Korean Guseong nuclear facility and the recent visit by the Commander of U.S. Forces Korea to Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-baek to lodge a protest.

Chairman Sung Il-jong of the National Defense Committee held a press conference on April 22 at the National Assembly Communication Office with the People Power Party defense committee members regarding Minister of Unification Jeong Dong-young's mention of the so-called 'North Korean-related nuclear facility.' Photo by Kim Hyun-min

On April 23, the People Power Party convened a full session of the National Defense Committee at the National Assembly. Through an agenda inquiry, the party sought to directly confirm whether General Xavier Brunson, Commander of U.S. Forces Korea, had protested Minister Jeong's remarks to Minister Ahn. However, both Minister Ahn and Democratic Party members were absent from the meeting.

Sung Il-jong, the committee chairman, said, "Minister Ahn attended the Legislation and Judiciary Committee just yesterday and spoke without issue, so why is he unable to attend the committee responsible for this matter? The more he avoids answering, the greater the suspicions become, and the more severe the negative impact on our national security will be." Minister Ahn had previously stated at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee the day before, "The notion that the Commander of U.S. Forces Korea protested to the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Korea is not appropriate in the context of ROK-U.S. military diplomacy, and I make it clear that this is entirely untrue."

Kang Dae-sik, a committee member, remarked, "Even though a major issue has arisen in national security, the government and the ruling party, who are responsible, are not attending the meeting. This is an act of rendering the National Assembly powerless and shows a lack of responsibility toward the people," adding, "The security situation in the Republic of Korea is by no means light. Since Minister Jeong's remarks about the Guseong nuclear facility, the United States has been restricting the sharing of information on North Korea, which means part of Korea's eyes and ears have essentially been covered."

Kang Sun-young, another committee member, questioned, "For whom did Minister Jeong leak such sensitive information?" She further criticized, "A rift in the ROK-U.S. alliance is emerging due to remarks such as those made by Minister Jeong, yet the Lee Jae-myung administration is taking no action, and security on the Korean Peninsula is being seriously shaken."

Committee member Yoo Yong-won stated, "Minister Jeong's remarks go beyond a simple slip of the tongue—they constitute a self-destructive case of leaking information that undermines the very foundation of Korea's security. The government must immediately present effective security reform measures to the United States and work to restore the disrupted intelligence network."

Previously, Minister Jeong, while attending the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, mentioned that North Korea has a uranium enrichment facility located in Guseong, Pyonganbuk-do. In response, it is known that the United States has restricted some of the intelligence it provides to South Korea, claiming that Minister Jeong disclosed sensitive information on North Korea.

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