Han Dong-hoon: “Blue House, don’t pressure Kang Kyung-wha to change her words so pathetically ... She had the courage to say what was right”

[Financial News]  As Ambassador to the U.S. Kang Kyung-wha said the North Korean landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was “clearly not an accident,” independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon argued, “The Blue House should not pressure Ambassador Kang Kyung-wha to change her words in such a pathetic way.”
On the 14th, Han said on Facebook, “Ambassador Kang Kyung-wha. You can’t take back what you’ve already said, and you shouldn’t take back what you had the courage to say because it was right just to avoid upsetting President Lee Jae-myung.” He went on to stress, “A landmine attack is not an accident.”
Earlier, at a parliamentary audit held at the South Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., on the 12th (local time), Ambassador Kang replied, “It was clearly not an accident,” when Han asked whether the North Korean landmine explosion in the DMZ was “deliberate or an accident.”
When Han pointed out, “President Lee Jae-myung called it an accident,” Ambassador Kang said, “The Joint Chiefs of Staff’s (investigation) findings say it was not an accident,” adding, “Based on what the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced, these were mines planted by (North Korea). In this case, they were planted deliberately, and in that sense I don’t believe it was an accident.”
In his address marking Armed Forces Day on the 1st, President Lee referred to the North Korean landmine explosion in the DMZ along the western front on the 21st of last month as “an accident.” When the wording became controversial, the Blue House explained that the remark had been made in the context of offering comfort to the injured servicemembers and their families.
As Ambassador Kang’s remarks became controversial, the South Korean Embassy in Washington said in a press backgrounder on the 13th (local time), “The meaning of a particular expression our government had previously used was to encourage and comfort the servicemembers who were seriously injured (in the landmine explosion) and their families.” It explained, “The ambassador to the U.S. also said, in that context, that it was deeply heartbreaking, as both a member of the public and an ambassador, that our military had suffered losses.” It stressed, “The point was in no way to address whether a particular expression our government had previously used was correct.”
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter