DPK calls for dismissal of foreign minister after Yoon's hot mic incident
Rep. Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, speaks during the party's Supreme Council meeting held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government building in Suwon, about 35 kilometers south of Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) will introduce a motion for the dismissal of Foreign Minister Park Jin unless he is sacked immediately for mishandling President Yoon Suk-yeol's latest overseas trip marred by Yoon's use of foul language, the party's floor leader said Monday.
"If President Yoon does not make a decision by today, we will introduce a motion tomorrow recommending the dismissal of the foreign minister in order to restore people's trust and remedy foreign policy," Rep. Park Hong-geun said during a meeting of the party's Supreme Council.
Park also called for the replacement of National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han, the first deputy director of the National Security Office Kim Tae-hyo and senior press secretary Kim Eun-hye.
The DPK has denounced Yoon's three-nation trip as a "diplomatic disaster."
The criticism was heavily focused on Yoon's private remarks to aids caught on a hot mic during a trip to New York on Wednesday.
Though the recording of Yoon's remarks was not clear due to noise, many thought that he used foul language while talking about U.S. Congress and U.S. President Joe Biden because of a subtitle uploaded by a TV station.
Yoon's office rejected the claim, stressing that he made no mention of U.S. Congress or Biden and that he was referring to how he would be embarrassed if Korea's opposition-controlled National Assembly rejected the $100 million he pledged to contribute to the Global Fund.
Earlier Monday, Yoon said untrue media reports of his remarks damaged Korea's alliance with the United States.
The DPK slammed Yoon for failing to apologize for his remarks.
"All people expected a sincere apology from the president, but there was no public apology after all," Park said, accusing Yoon of "hiding the truth" and "intimidating the media." "A political act of threatening the people and the media is a grave challenge against the democracy." (Yonhap)