By Do Je-hae
Lawmakers-elect who defected from North Korea have come under mounting criticism for their rash claims regarding North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s health.
Thae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat who won a seat in Seoul’s Gangnam District on the main opposition United Future Party’s (UFP) ticket in the April 15 general election, said last week that Kim’s long absence from public view meant something unusual had happened to him. He made the comments following an earlier CNN report that the North Korean leader was “gravely ill.” Ji Seong-ho, who won a proportional representation seat as a member of the UFP’s satellite Future Korea Party, claimed that he was “99 percent” certain of Kim’s death last week, saying that he had personally been informed about it from “sources” who were familiar with issues in North Korea.
Their claims turned out to be completely false when Kim emerged from a 20-day absence, Saturday, appearing healthy and in form, and conducting activities normally. Cheong Wa Dae, which had said that Kim was fine, noted Sunday that the incident will hopefully raise the people’s faith in the government’s announcements regarding North Korea.
There were expectations that Thae, who formerly served at a senior post at the North Korean Embassy in London, would be named to the 21st National Assembly’s committees that deal with foreign affairs or national security. However, calls are rising to exclude him and Ji from the committees that deal with sensitive intelligence, given the fiasco over Kim’s health the two caused with the wrong information.
Rep. Kim Boo-kyum of the DPK urged the UFP to exclude them from the defense and intelligence committees, saying they themselves proved they were unfit to be on these. “You’ve done serious harm to our security, which could cause a national disaster,” he wrote on Facebook, Monday.
Yun Kun-young, a DPK lawmaker-elect and former presidential aide, said there were concerns over Thae and Ji dealing with sensitive intelligence about the country. “They are not mere defectors anymore but lawmakers-elect, and their remarks now have a different influence,” Yun said in a radio interview.
Some experts also point out that Thae and Ji had already lost their credibility even before officially assuming office by spreading unchecked information on the North Korean leaders’ health, which has grave implications for President Moon Jae-in’s “peace process” and the security situation in the region.
“They won candidate nominations from the main opposition UFP to put the brakes on President Moon’s North Korea policy, but this time they went too far,” Jeong Se-hyun, a former unification minister and executive vice-chairman of the National Unification Advisory Council, said during a radio interview. “They will not be taken seriously if they take part in North-Korea related interpellation sessions.”
The two lawmakers-elect have been slow to admit they were wrong and continued to claim it was too early to draw any conclusion about Kim’s health even after his reemergence.
Thae offered a short apology on social media, Monday. “I know that one of the reasons the people chose me as a lawmaker was for accurate analyses of North Korea,” Thae said. “After this incident, I promise to carry out my duties at the National Assembly with a more humble and prudent attitude.”
