Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, claimed in an op-ed sent to a right-wing American online media outlet that the Lee Jae-myung administration’s pro-China and pro-North Korea policies, along with reductions in U.S.–South Korea military exercises, have caused “serious problems” in relations with the United States.
In an article published on the 9th (local time) in the pro-Trump conservative internet outlet The Daily Caller, based in Washington, D.C., Jang cited examples such as banning civic groups from sending anti-North Korean leaflets across the border and expressing willingness to reduce joint U.S.–South Korea military drills. He argued that the Lee administration is “pursuing conciliatory policies toward North Korea and China,” including “declaring a full restoration of Korea-China relations and expressing respect for the North Korean regime.”
He also expressed unconditional support for the United States, saying, “(The Lee administration) must choose one of two options: either stand clearly and unconditionally with the free world (the United States), or not stand with it at all.” His op-ed appears intended to stir distrust toward the Lee administration among both American audiences and domestic conservatives ahead of the June 3 local elections.
Jang further emphasized security concerns, claiming that “South Korea is facing a comprehensive crisis.”
He said South Korea had become “a country unable to effectively respond to espionage activities by agents of the Chinese Communist Party,” adding that over the past five years there had been concentrated efforts to steal technology from major Korean corporations such as Samsung and SK. He also pointed to incidents in which Chinese nationals allegedly used drones to illegally photograph key military facilities, including areas in Busan, Jeju, near the National Intelligence Service, and Osan Air Base, arguing that “South Korea’s economic and security sovereignty is being steadily eroded.”
Jang also linked the Lee administration’s judicial reform legislation to the U.S.–South Korea alliance. He argued that “alliances are not built merely on promises but on trust, and that trust is maintained through democratic governance tied to the rule of law,” adding that “South Korea’s rule of law collapsed when the Lee administration passed judicial reform legislation last March.”
He continued by claiming that the reforms “increase the number of judges in ways that could be subject to political influence and introduce a fourth-trial system capable of overturning even Supreme Court rulings.” He also referred to the Democratic Party as “the ruling socialist-leaning Democratic Party” and claimed that the judicial reform legislation would allow it to “indict judges and prosecutors whenever it wants.”
In the article, Jang also sought to justify his controversial visit to the United States.
He wrote, “The longest-lasting alliances in history were not built solely on treaties but together with trust. And trust begins with listening.” He added, “As one of 300 members of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, I came to Washington to hear what Americans see, what they expect, and what they believe this partnership should look like. This is a conversation that should have happened long ago.”
Jang was also criticized after stating at a Seoul Foreign Correspondents’ Club press conference on the 8th that “I do not know what wounds or confusion the martial law declaration by former President Yoon Suk-yeol may have caused the public, but impeachment is not the only way to resolve martial law.”
In response, a first-term lawmaker from the Yeongnam region commented, “He was already heavily criticized within the party for the U.S. trip, yet he still seems obsessed with consolidating conservatives through ‘America-driven’ politics. At this point, it’s becoming pitiful.”
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