President Lee Jae Myung Irritated with Ukraine? ... Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Denies "Obsession"

[Financial News] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) immediately denied opposition criticism that President Lee Jae Myung is excessively fixated on Ukraine after demanding an apology from Kyiv for breaking its promise to keep the repatriation of North Korean soldiers undisclosed.
After Lee reiterated on the 2nd that South Korea would take additional measures if Ukraine refused to publicly apologize for breaking its promise to keep the North Korean POWs' repatriation confidential, critics accused him of being obsessed. They argued that the repatriation of the North Korean soldiers could not be kept secret forever.
The People Power Party and independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon had previously criticized Lee, saying that he was irritated only with Ukraine while failing to condemn North Korea over the landmine incident.
A senior MOFA official told reporters that he "does not think it is (the president's) obsession" and drew a line by saying, "Ukraine and North Korea cannot be regarded as exactly the same foreign countries." The official also said that the two North Korean POWs repatriated to South Korea would continue to be kept undisclosed.
He said, "(From the time preparations for the repatriation began,) we tried to keep it undisclosed until the very end if possible." He added, "We had no plan for when to make it public. As much as possible, we could not help but take the two POWs and their families into consideration."
Lee's demands for an apology from Ukraine have continued to grow more forceful.
In a post on X that day, Lee said, "When I expressed my regret as politely as possible, they turned the president of another country into a liar by claiming that there had been no agreement. When I asked them to acknowledge the agreement and apologize, they instead talked about an imminent military clash between the two Koreas. I express serious regret to Ukraine for attempting to provoke the outbreak of war on the Korean Peninsula." Lee also warned, "If Ukraine continues to refuse to issue a public apology, we will take additional measures," making clear that he would not let the matter go unaddressed.
However, opposition lawmakers continued to criticize Lee for being overly fixated on Ukraine during the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee of the National Assembly meeting held on the 30th of last month.
Kim Geon of the People Power Party said, "He could have quietly expressed regret through diplomatic channels and explained the matter to the public." He added, "Given that the war is still ongoing, and considering postwar reconstruction cooperation and the possibility of further POW repatriations, public disagreements between the leaders should have been handled more cautiously."
Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon said, "The Lee Jae Myung administration cannot even utter a word to North Korea, while it is growling only at Ukraine," characterizing the administration as taking out its frustration on the international community.

[email protected] Kim Kyung-soo Reporter