People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won sent a letter to Ukrainian President Zelensky thanking him for sending two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea. The Democratic Party reacted sharply, and the exchange of attacks continues.
According to a Kyunghyang Shinmun report on the 10th, Na Kyung-won sent Zelensky a letter thanking him for the transfer of two North Korean POWs to South Korea. After the Democratic Party issued a critical commentary, Na hit back at the government and ruling party: "Are you North Korean leadership, or lawmakers of the Workers' Party of Korea?"
광고 문의 · 300×250Background: a confidential agreement and a recalled ambassador
The report gave this background: the Ukrainian government broke a confidential agreement with Seoul by making the POW transfer public, and the South Korean government responded by recalling Ambassador Park Gi-chang from Ukraine. The day before, the Democratic Party had asked Na in a commentary, "Which country's lawmaker are you, exactly?"
The Democratic Party's case
Democratic spokesperson Lee Yong-woo countered that Na was defending Ukraine, which broke a confidential promise, while pinning on the government the accusation of abandoning the prisoners to their deaths. He also called it irresponsible agitation to brand as "pro-North" a demand to protect the individuals and their families.
Lawmaker Shin Jung-hoon said Na seemed to welcome even diplomatic friction if it let her attack the government, and called the habit of putting partisan fighting ahead of the national interest deplorable. Lawmaker Kim Byung-joo, on Facebook the day before, labeled the thank-you letter a treasonous act, compared it to Lee Wan-yong, and demanded it stop at once.
Na's rebuttal
On Facebook, Na criticized Democratic lawmakers for speaking for the North Korean regime and told them not to attack an opposition lawmaker's diplomatic efforts with abusive language. Sharing news of the ambassador's return, she argued that no country, Ukraine included, will help North Korean POWs defect from now on, and criticized the Lee Jae-myung government for turning its back on compatriots' lives out of deference to the North. She added that the opposition should activate parliamentary diplomacy channels, including the Ukrainian embassy in Seoul.
The report did not go into the specific contents of the letter or the current condition of the two prisoners.