Kim Byung-joo "Is the Expression of the Korea-Japan Alliance Sensible... People Power Party Should Apologize"

Kim Byung-joo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated that his remark calling the ruling party "crazy" was intended to point out the incorrect term 'Korea-US-Japan alliance' and declared, "I will not apologize."

On the morning of the 3rd, the National Assembly National Defense Committee plenary session, which was scheduled to be held, was canceled, and Kim Byung-joo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is heading to the National Defense Committee chairman's office. Amid the confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties over Kim Byung-joo's remark calling the ruling party "crazy," the People Power Party demanded an apology and canceled the opening of the National Defense Committee plenary session that day. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

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Kim, who served as the deputy commander of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command, appeared on KBS Radio's 'Jeonggyeok Sisa' on the morning of the 4th and said regarding the controversy over his "crazy" remark, "The core issue lies in criticizing the People Power Party for using the term Korea-US-Japan alliance, meaning a Korea-Japan alliance." He raised his voice, saying, "The term Korea-US-Japan alliance implies an alliance between Korea and Japan, and as a military veteran, I get extremely upset when such an alliance between Korea and Japan is taken for granted."

On the 2nd, during a government questioning session at the National Assembly plenary meeting, Kim questioned Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, saying, "There are concerns that strengthening Korea-US-Japan joint exercises might lead to a Korea-US-Japan alliance," and added, "The People Power Party members who are laughing here expressed the term Korea-US-Japan alliance in a statement on the 2nd of last month." Following this remark, ruling party lawmakers strongly protested and demanded an apology, causing the plenary session to be disrupted.

Kim emphasized, "If one is sane, how could they use the term that Korea and Japan are allies? Japan is a country with territorial ambitions and does not acknowledge historical issues, so I was outraged and pointed out how they could use the word alliance in that way."

He continued, "I pointed this out, but even after a month, it has not been corrected, so during the government questioning, I used the term 'Korea-Japan alliance (expression) is problematic. If one is sane, how could they use it?' The People Power Party is nitpicking over this," and criticized, "They are using this as an excuse to boycott the special prosecutor Chae Sang-byeong."

Kim reiterated that he has no intention to apologize. He said, "The People Power Party who used such a term should apologize, so why should I apologize? If I apologize for the expression, it could be misunderstood as acknowledging a Korea-Japan alliance, so I cannot apologize for this."

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