Jung hit for questioning NK drones
By Jun Ji-hye
Rep. Jung Cheong-rae
Members of the governing Saenuri Party denounced opposition lawmaker Jung Cheong-rae for saying that three drones the defense ministry concluded were from North Korea may not have come from there.
Ruling party lawmakers said Jung’s remarks were construed as agreeing with people who claim the drone scenario was fabricated by the Park Geun-hye government seeking to unite conservative voters ahead of the June 4 local elections.
Rep. Hwang Woo-yea, chairman of the Saenuri Party, said: “Jung made an irresponsible remark that only causes conflict among voters in the South.”
He added the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) should express its position on Jung’s remarks.
On Friday, during a meeting of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, Jung said the font used for lettering on the drones is one provided in Hancom Office’s word processing program widely used in the South.
The Ministry of National Defense tentatively concluded the three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that crashed here were North Korean drones.
Yet it fell short of presenting a decisive “smoking gun” to prove Pyongyang sent the UAVs to take pictures of Cheong Wa Dae and military installations.
Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the ruling party, a former anti-North Korea activist, claimed, “I think Jung is too brash. People in the North also use that word processor.”
Rep. Kim Jin-tae, also from the Saenuri Party, launched an even stronger attack against Jung, saying, “You should go back to your homeland (the North),” accusing him of being a North Korean sympathizer.
In response, Jung said he never made conclusive comments regarding the drones.
“If the drones are really from the North, the defense minister should be dismissed,” said Jung. “It is the government that is responsible for resolving any possible suspicions.”
The lawmaker called on the government to disclose the GPS coordinates log of the drones.
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