Conservative opposition party points to President Lee Jae-myung as the reason for the delay in the investigation into the suspected DMZ landmine explosion

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Ryu Mina and Lee Yulip = The conservative opposition, including the People Power Party, launched a wave of attacks on the 28th, pointing out President Lee Jae-myung as the reason for the delay in the investigation into the suspected mine explosion that recently occurred in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, said at the Supreme Council meeting that day, “Intentional investigation, delay, accident reduction, and cover-up are all impossible without the president’s instructions,” and claimed, “The president is covering up the truth of North Korea’s provocations.”

At the same time, he emphasized, "We must reveal every detail of what reports have been made to the President and what instructions he has given since the North Korean military violated the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in June. If the President ordered the cover-up of the accident, this is clear grounds for impeachment, and it is an act of foreign exchange that must be investigated immediately."

Floor leader Jeong Jeong-sik also mentioned President Lee's proposal to 'suspend North Korean nuclear weapons and ease sanctions' and argued, "The military is not being faithful to its original mission because they are politically putting pressure on the military under the delusion of false peace."

Floor leader Jeong said, “The full extent of the military’s delayed investigation must be clearly revealed,” and urged, “The government and ruling party must first abandon the policy of subservience to North Korea, which is the root cause of security instability.”

Supreme Council member Kim Jae-won also mentioned the Ssangbangwool remittance incident to North Korea and pointed out that "the Lee Jae-myung administration is afraid that it will offend North Korea's Kim Jong-un."

Four-term lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo said on Facebook, "If it is ultimately confirmed that North Korea was responsible, the government should be held accountable through actions, not words," and argued that the loudspeakers against North Korea that were removed shortly after the current government took office should be reinstalled.

Rep. Seong Il-jong, chairman of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee, held a press conference and raised suspicions, saying, "There is talk within the military that the former commander of the 1st Corps, who caused a stir with his 'empty gun alert', refused (to investigate) even though he was aware of the North Korean military's landmine-laying activities during his time in the 25th Division."

Rep. Joo Jin-woo also claimed, “Even though (the military) secured eyewitness accounts of ‘North Korean wooden box land mines,’ they intentionally covered it up in order to ‘lift the UN sanctions against North Korea’ (the President),” and added, “The refusal to investigate the UN Command is also due to President Lee’s concern for North Korea.”

Rep. Yoo Yong-won, a former military journalist, said that he was also receiving reports of soldiers seeing wooden box mines and urged, "The military authorities must immediately disclose the soldiers' testimonies and transparently reveal whether there were additional landmines, the true cause of the explosion, and the details of the poor response."

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon took aim at the new Minister of National Defense Kang Shin-cheol, saying, "He is hiding behind the disgrace of a military-level official and civilian spokesperson and cannot stand up in front of the public. He is not unscrupulous in stealing benefits from evacuated residents, but he is not qualified to take responsibility for the defense of the Republic of Korea, so he should resign as Minister of National Defense."

In another article, one lawmaker wrote about the controversy over the non-disclosure of the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war to Ukraine, "If the president acts like this, will Ukraine cooperate in the future when North Korean prisoners of war want to go to South Korea? Do we have to show off internationally like this?"

Choi Eun-seok, senior floor spokesperson for the People Power Party, also pointed out in a related comment, "As the government is reacting more sensitively to whether or not the repatriation will be made public than the repatriation itself, it is only raising suspicions that it may be overly conscious of how North Korea will accept this repatriation and what scolding it will receive from North Korea."