By Chung Min-uck
A writer's lecture delivered to the 2nd Fleet Command at the Pyeongtaek Navy Station, Gyeonggi Province, is causing controversy because he previously claimed that North Korea was not involved in the 2010 sinking of the naval vessel Cheonan.
The lecture was videotaped recently and is to be broadcast on an MBC TV program.
The government concluded that North Korea was responsible for sinking South Korea's naval corvette, Cheonan, resulting in the deaths of 46 sailors.
But novelist Lee Oi-soo later dismissed the findings of the official investigation describing it as a work of fiction fabricated by the government.
Lee is a renowned writer known for left-leaning political views. He is also one of the nation's most prominent Twitter users, with more than 1 million followers.
The criticism of his appearance in Pyeongtaek came mainly came from ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers.
"How can a person who denies the torpedoing of the Cheonan give a lecture at the 2nd Fleet Command where the wreckage of the ship is on display," Rep. Shim Jae-chul said at the Saenuri Party's supreme council meeting, Thursday.
Rep. Kim Sung-chan, also of the ruling party, and who served as the Navy chief when the Cheonan incident took place, said in a press release that, "The defense minister and chief of the Navy must apologize to the bereaved family members (of those who were killed), and MBC must erase Lee's lecture before it is broadcast.
"As for Lee, he must apologize to the public and the bereaved family members, and sincerely reconsider his attitude on denying what happened."
Rep. Ha Tae-keung, another Saenuri Party member, held a press conference also calling for Lee's immediate apology and not airing his segment on MBC.
"It's like (Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo) Abe lecturing at the nation's Independence Hall," Ha said, referring to Lee's appearance before the 2nd Fleet Command.
Lee, in an apparent reference to Ha, tweeted Thursday, "A person who claimed the Dokdo islets to be a disputed territorial area, and that Koreans thought of Japan as their homeland during the colonial era, is reacting negatively to my lecture on the military playing a positive role for young people … Wow."
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| Novelist Lee Oi-soo |
A writer's lecture delivered to the 2nd Fleet Command at the Pyeongtaek Navy Station, Gyeonggi Province, is causing controversy because he previously claimed that North Korea was not involved in the 2010 sinking of the naval vessel Cheonan.
The lecture was videotaped recently and is to be broadcast on an MBC TV program.
The government concluded that North Korea was responsible for sinking South Korea's naval corvette, Cheonan, resulting in the deaths of 46 sailors.
But novelist Lee Oi-soo later dismissed the findings of the official investigation describing it as a work of fiction fabricated by the government.
Lee is a renowned writer known for left-leaning political views. He is also one of the nation's most prominent Twitter users, with more than 1 million followers.
The criticism of his appearance in Pyeongtaek came mainly came from ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers.
"How can a person who denies the torpedoing of the Cheonan give a lecture at the 2nd Fleet Command where the wreckage of the ship is on display," Rep. Shim Jae-chul said at the Saenuri Party's supreme council meeting, Thursday.
Rep. Kim Sung-chan, also of the ruling party, and who served as the Navy chief when the Cheonan incident took place, said in a press release that, "The defense minister and chief of the Navy must apologize to the bereaved family members (of those who were killed), and MBC must erase Lee's lecture before it is broadcast.
"As for Lee, he must apologize to the public and the bereaved family members, and sincerely reconsider his attitude on denying what happened."
Rep. Ha Tae-keung, another Saenuri Party member, held a press conference also calling for Lee's immediate apology and not airing his segment on MBC.
"It's like (Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo) Abe lecturing at the nation's Independence Hall," Ha said, referring to Lee's appearance before the 2nd Fleet Command.
Lee, in an apparent reference to Ha, tweeted Thursday, "A person who claimed the Dokdo islets to be a disputed territorial area, and that Koreans thought of Japan as their homeland during the colonial era, is reacting negatively to my lecture on the military playing a positive role for young people … Wow."
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