“Will they apologize just because we ask them to?” — What President Lee Said to the Bereaved Family of the Cheonan

[Choice Times=Byung-Tae Kim, Staff Reporter]

PresidentLee Jae-myung reportedly made the remark while greeting bereaved families after the 11th West Sea Defense Day ceremonyon the 27th.

According to a report by The Chosun Ilboon the 28th, as President Lee was leaving after exchanging greetings with the families of the fallen, the mother and older brother of the late Petty Officer Min Pyeong-gi, who was killed in the sinking of the ROKS Cheonan, held the president’s hand and said, “Please make efforts to receive an apology from North Korea.”

In response, President Lee reportedly replied, “Will they apologize just because we ask them to?”

In response, Rep.Na Kyung-woncriticized the remark on her social media, saying, “To the blood-soaked plea of the bereaved family asking that North Korea be made to apologize, President Lee responded, ‘Will they apologize just because we ask them to?’ This is an outrageous remark that makes one doubt one’s ears. It is not something the president of the Republic of Korea should ever say.”

Rep. Na added, “This is a declaration of surrender to North Korea by the nation’s highest official himself, saying he will not hold North Korea accountable for its provocation. It is also a cruel insult to the patriotic spirits who gave their lives for this country.”

She further asked, “Where has the obsession and aggression gone — the same aggression with which he so persistently demanded apologies from the opposition, the media, and citizens who criticized him?”

Na also argued that “what President Lee showed at the West Sea Defense Day ceremony was nothing more and nothing less than a deceptive attendance show.” She pointed out that“far from demanding an apology in his commemorative speech, he did not even utter the word ‘North Korea’ — the perpetrator that took the lives of our young men — not even once.”

She continued, “Instead, all he offered were humiliating tributes that North Korea would love to hear — ‘joint growth between the two Koreas,’ ‘shared prosperity,’ and ‘peace.’ What country’s president is he, exactly? His words and actions are completely at odds.”

She also said, “How could he even show his face at the ceremony? If he is indeed the president of the Republic of Korea, then on no other day than yesterday — at the West Sea Defense Day commemorative address — he should have at the very least clearly held North Korea accountable for its horrific provocation and firmly demanded an apology.”

Below is the full text of the post Rep. Na Kyung-won uploaded to social media.(Editor’s note)

“Will they apologize just because we ask them to??”

At the solemn memorial ceremony honoring the 55 heroes of the West Sea Defense, President Lee Jae-myung once again drove a cruel dagger into the hearts of the bereaved families of the Cheonan.

To the blood-soaked plea of the bereaved family asking that North Korea be made to apologize, President Lee replied, “Will they apologize just because we ask them to?”

This is an outrageous remark that makes one doubt one’s ears.
It is not something the president of the Republic of Korea should ever say.

This is a declaration of surrender to North Korea by the nation’s highest official himself, saying he will not hold North Korea accountable for its provocation. It is also a brutal insult to the patriotic souls who gave their lives to protect the country.

Where has the obsession and aggression gone — the same aggression with which he so relentlessly demanded apologies from the opposition, the media, and the citizens who criticized him?

Yet before the true perpetrator — the one who sent our young men to the icy depths of the sea — he cannot even open his mouth. That cowardice is shocking.

It has become routine in this country for criminals to shout proudly while victims shed tears of blood.

In the National Assembly, they are now also trying to erase and overturn the “West Sea civil servant shooting and cover-up fabrication case,” another atrocity involving North Korea and the Democratic Party administration.

Even though the North Korean military’s brutal act — shooting a South Korean citizen and burning the body — was understood in real time, the Democratic Party government thoroughly covered it up out of concern for worsening inter-Korean relations.

As if abandoning a citizen struggling to survive were not enough, they then fabricated the victim’s death as a case of “voluntary defection to the North,” branding the bereaved family with a scarlet letter.

When a citizen was brutally murdered, the government buried the truth.
Now it is trying to erase the truth entirely.

It was the Democratic Party that endlessly fueled conspiracy theories over the sinking of the Cheonan, insulting the fallen sailors.

Before North Korea, they become endlessly small.
Yet toward the patriotic heroes and their bereaved families, they remain endlessly cruel.
That is the unchanging nature of the Lee Jae-myung administration and the Democratic Party.

What President Lee showed at yesterday’s West Sea Defense Day ceremony was nothing more and nothing less than a deceptive “attendance show.”

In his commemorative speech, far from demanding an apology, he did not even utter the word “North Korea”— the perpetrator that took the lives of our young men — not even once.

Instead, all he offered were humiliating tributes that North Korea would love to hear: “joint growth between the two Koreas,” “shared prosperity,” and “peace.”

What country’s president is he, exactly?
His words and actions are completely at odds.

How could he even show his face at the ceremony?
If he is indeed the president of the Republic of Korea, then on no other day than yesterday — at the West Sea Defense Day commemorative address — he should have at the very least clearly held North Korea accountable for its horrific provocation and firmly demanded an apology.

Peace is not obtained by begging for it.
True peace can only be defended by a nation’s firm will to call enemy provocations what they are and to demand accountability from killers.

If he lacks even the courage to demand an apology, then he is not fit to hold that office.

President Lee Jae-myung must immediately bow in apology before the bereaved families of theCheonanand before the people of this country.

And he must immediately demand an official apology from North Korea for the sinking of the Cheonan.

Furthermore, he must immediately halt any attempt to manipulate the truth regarding the “West Sea civil servant shooting and cover-up fabrication case,” ensure a thorough investigation, punish those responsible, acknowledge state liability, and issue an official apology.

#Cheonanham #NorthKorea #LeeJaeMyung