Ruling party lawmaker hit for tweet on post-US summit Korea-China relations
Rep. So Byung-hoon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) speaks during a hearing session at the National Assembly in Seoul, May 4. Korea Times file
By Jung Da-min
A ruling party lawmaker has come under fire for his remarks that one of President Moon Jae-in's aides had better visit China to explain the results of the latest Korea-U.S. summit held last Friday (local time).
Rep. So Byung-hoon, a two-term lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), said on Twitter, Saturday, “It would be great if one of President Moon's aides would visit China on their way back to Korea, to explain things related to the summit.”
The tweet was seen as a message urging the government to consider its relations with China, as Beijing has expressed opposition through state media reports about a message issued during the Korea-U.S. summit regarding the Taiwan Strait.
A joint statement adopted after the summit between Moon and U.S. President Joe Biden said that the countries would cooperate in maintaining freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and upholding peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
The ruling party lawmaker's tweet has brought strong criticism from netizens who said Korea has no obligation as a sovereign state to explain to China what it has discussed with the U.S. The tweet has since been deleted.
The main opposition People Power Party (PPP)'s former lawmaker Kim Jin-tae criticized So in a Facebook post, Monday, saying So's tweet showed the ruling party lawmaker's toadyism toward China.