Lee Jae-myung lashes out at Yoon Seok-youl’s view of national security

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, has strongly criticized his archrival, Yoon Seok-youl of the main opposition People Power Party, for hinting at the possibility of canceling a symbolic inter-Korean military agreement, warning that the idea itself poses a serious threat to national security.

On a Facebook post Wednesday titled “Candidate Yoon, please stop pushing in the wrong direction,” Lee lashed out at Yoon’s recent remarks that he could consider scrapping the Sept. 19 military agreement if there is no sign of change in North Korea’s attitude.

“Are you speaking about a cancellation of the agreement because you are from the People Power Party, which did not hesitate to pay money to induce military tensions on the truce line?” he wrote.

Lee was referring to a political scandal that shook the nation ahead of the 1997 presidential election. At the time, the Grand National Party, a precursor to the current People Power Party, faced allegations that some party members had colluded with North Korea to stage an armed conflict on the border aimed to cause public anxieties about national security and unify conservative voters. Later that year, Kim Dae-jung, who is best remembered for his “Sunshine Policy” of engaging with the North, became the first opposition candidate to win the presidency.

“It is a reckless remark that hurts peace on the Korean Peninsula and poses threat to national security. If you have made the remark without recognizing the seriousness exactly, that would be a bigger problem,” he said, adding that a politician’s lack of knowledge is “a national disaster.”

In an interview with local daily Kookmin Ilbo that was published Wednesday, Yoon said, “If North Korea keeps asking us to cancel our ‘hostile policy’ without signaling any changes in its own attitude, it would be for us to keep the agreement as well. That would mean a cancellation of the agreement.”

The Comprehensive Military Agreement, more widely known as the “Sept. 19 military agreement,” was signed in 2018 during an inter-Korean summit held in Pyongyang and is a critical diplomatic legacy of President Moon Jae-in.

Under the pact, the two Koreas agreed to form a joint military consultation body to discuss and oversee the implementation of a set of tension-reducing measures. But no discussions have taken place to map out concrete action plans since the breakdown of the US-North Korea summit in Hanoi early 2019.

Amid years of chilled inter-Korean relations, rival parties have often clashed over the effectiveness of the agreement.

The liberal bloc contends the agreement has played a crucial role in expanding a buffer zone between the two Koreas and easing military tensions, while the conservative bloc has raised skepticism citing North Korea’s recurring military provocations in violation of the agreement.

With less than five months to go until the March 9 presidential election, Lee and Yoon, candidates for the two largest political parties, are expected to lock horns on security and North Korea issues.

Lee, a liberal closely aligned with Moon’s values, has said he would succeed and develop Moon’s engagement policy with the North, while Yoon, the recent darling of the conservative bloc, is a harsh critic of Moon’s North Korea policy, saying no commitment has been made to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula during his presidency.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)