Democratic Party floor leader Han Byung-do on the 28th urged the People Power Party to "immediately stop turning the sacrifices of our soldiers into a political fight," after the opposition party raised the possibility of impeaching President Lee Jae-myung over a recent landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone.
Speaking at a supreme council meeting at the National Assembly that morning, Han said he hoped for "a swift recovery for the soldiers injured in the DMZ explosion," but added that "since the Joint Chiefs of Staff has said disclosing operational plans such as the on-site investigation schedule could endanger the investigation team, securing the accident site has to come first."
He then challenged the opposition's characterization of that stance. "The People Power Party calls this an attempted cover-up and accuses us of sending soldiers into a dangerous place. Does it make any sense to brand efforts to ensure the investigation team's safety as a cover-up?" he said.
Turning to PPP leader Jang Dong-hyuk, who has gone as far as calling for Lee's impeachment, Han said the leader's remarks, which continued through the final day of the holiday, were "more than I can bear to watch."
"This is a matter of national security," Han said. "The cause of the accident has to be established through an on-site investigation and forensic analysis. Hounding President Lee before the results are out means using the soldiers' sacrifices as a tool of political warfare, so stop this behavior that dishonors their noble sacrifices at once."
He added that with Democratic Party members of the National Defense Committee visiting the unit at the accident site that day to review the military's investigation and follow-up measures, the party would "follow the joint investigation and forensic findings through to the end." He pledged that the party would "establish the cause of the accident without leaving a shred of doubt and fulfill its responsibility to the end in protecting the lives and safety of our soldiers and the public."
Separately, Han commented on Lee's trip to North and Central America, saying that "diplomatic achievements are complete only when they reach people's lives." He said the Democratic Party would "back this up with legislation and budget so that shipbuilding cooperation translates into jobs in our industries and supply chain cooperation leads to economic stability."
He also noted that the regular session of the National Assembly had begun in earnest following the Chuseok holiday. "The Democratic Party's first principle is, first and second, the livelihood of the people," he said. "We will concentrate our capabilities on legislation and budgets that ease the burden on people's lives and open the way for future industries."
