Chung Jom-sig, floor leader of the opposition People Power Party, on the 29th called for the resumption of loudspeaker broadcasts toward North Korea and the complete scrapping of budget allocations for aid to the North, following a landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone.
Speaking at a party floor leadership meeting at the National Assembly, Chung said the government must take firm action commensurate with the incident. "Given that a provocation by the North is all but certain, the government must respond with resolute measures," he said. "It should immediately reinstall the loudspeakers that were dismantled and resume broadcasts toward the North."
Referring to the results of the first joint on-site investigation announced by the Joint Chiefs of Staff the previous day, Chung said the North's conduct had been effectively confirmed. "The JCS findings make clear that these were mines laid by North Korea, yet by citing a final investigation still to come, it left room for the possibility that the North was not responsible," he said. "It appears the government is still maintaining a deferential posture toward the North, which is quite disappointing." Chung cited the 2015 wooden-box mine provocation, after which loudspeaker broadcasts were resumed, and stressed that the alert posture along the Military Demarcation Line must also be fundamentally strengthened.
He also argued that the military's warning broadcasts and warning shots had been weakened after guidance was issued during the tenure of former Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back instructing troops not to respond mechanically to North Korean incursions across the MDL but to judge according to circumstances. "The loose alert posture created by the Lee Jae-myung administration is what triggered a security disaster like this one," he said.
Chung pressed strongly for a shift in the government's North Korea policy. "The government and the ruling party should use this incident as an occasion to declare an end to the line of submission toward the North," he said. "It is only right that the budget for aid to North Korea also be scrapped entirely." He added: "How long will we beg for peace and hand over taxpayers' money to a principal enemy that makes a habit of provocations and threats?"
He also signaled that his party would pursue its own fact-finding effort. "We will use every available means, including not only the parliamentary audit but also standing committee hearings and a parliamentary investigation, to establish the facts of this incident," Chung said, adding that the party would examine whether the military had responded properly to North Korean incursions across the MDL and the laying of mines. He expressed sympathy for the 10 service members injured in the blast and pledged to work to ensure compensation and recognition befitting their sacrifice for the country.
Chung also criticized the Democratic Party for designating Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de as a witness (rather than a reference witness) for the parliamentary audit the previous day, calling it "an unconstitutional outrage that tramples directly on the separation of powers." He said: "If the chief justice is to be called as an audit witness over the matter of nominating Supreme Court justices, then President Lee, who demanded something with no constitutional basis, should be the first to be summoned as a witness for a face-to-face examination."
He went on to argue that the president's appointment authority does not amount to a right to demand a renewed nomination of a Supreme Court justice candidate. "Even if the president declines to exercise the appointment power, demanding that the chief justice submit or withhold another nomination is a clear infringement of the nomination authority," Chung said. "A demand for renomination with no basis in the Constitution or in law infringes on the National Assembly's right of consent to appointments."
He also called on the president to explain the grounds for refusing to appoint Supreme Court justice nominee Son Bong-gi. "If the president refuses to appoint a candidate nominated by the chief justice, he must explain to the Supreme Court and to the public what the reason is and what disqualifies the candidate," he said. "'I don't know, I just don't like him' cannot be a reason for refusing an appointment." Chung said the aim was "to appoint a total of 22 Supreme Court justices to his own taste during his term, take control of the Supreme Court and use it to make his five trials disappear."
He warned: "The president should bear in mind that unless he immediately halts the infringement of the nomination authority and the special counsel's withdrawal of indictments, he will be opening the door to his own impeachment." He added that "withdrawing an indictment amounts to withdrawing the administration."
