Opposition leader says alleged US eavesdropping 'disappointing' if true

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said Tuesday that recent allegations of the United States' eavesdropping on South Korea's presidential office would be "very disappointing" if true.

Lee of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea made the remark during a press conference hosted by the Foreign Correspondents' Club, referring to the reported leak of purported Pentagon documents with information that US intelligence services eavesdropped on South Korean presidential officials discussing whether to provide weapons support to Ukraine.

"If it is true, it would be a very disappointing situation damaging the South Korea-US alliance based on trust," he said.

"I hope it is not true and the result of faked documents, as announced by the South Korean government," he added. "But the objective circumstances show that it's difficult to exclude the possibility that the eavesdropping actually took place."

Lee went on to say his party will do its best to investigate the facts surrounding the eavesdropping allegations at the National Assembly level and that if they are found to be true, they will demand an apology from the US government and increase efforts by the South Korean government to prevent such eavesdropping. (Yonhap)