hankyoreh

May 24.

Prior to the joint civilian-military investigation team’s briefing at the UN Security Council on the sinking of the Cheonan on Monday, the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) submitted a letter to the nations of the Security Council highlighting contentious aspects of the investigation’s findings. The Lee Myung-bak government has slammed the move as interference in diplomacy, while the PSPD called it a justified action by a civic group.

PSPD sent the letter on June 10 via email to Mexico, which currently holds the presidency of the Security Council, and the 15 member nations. The opinion statement consisted of an official PSPD letter written in English and a 27-page attachment detailing the problems with the investigation findings.

The letter, signed by PSPD Representative Lim Jong-dae, said the final investigation results into the Cheonan sinking were not announced. It also expressed concern that the response plan announced by the Lee Myung-bak administration could cause serious political and diplomatic controversy. It also conveyed hopes that the UN Security Council would make a rational and fair decision for peace on the Korean Peninsula, taking all matters into account.

The attachment, a translation of the “Cheonan Issue Report 1 and 2” released by PSPD on May 25, asks eight questions about unresolved issues in the investigation results. These included questions about insufficient explanations about the water column and cross section, and six issues regarding the investigation process.

In response to the PSPD letter, Foreign Ministry spokesman Kim Young-sun said in a briefing Monday that he believed that the letter was an extremely regrettable action blocking diplomatic efforts currently being put forth by the government. He also said the government plans to resolutely deal with the issue, including having the joint investigation team faithfully brief the UN Security Council. Some government officials, however, slammed PSPD in more relentless terms, calling the move “traitorous” and “messing things up.”

In response, PSPD said it is a group qualified to convey opinions and statements to the UN Human Rights Committee and UN Economic and Social Council as an NGO in consultative status with the U.N. It said the Lee administration has claimed that the civic organization’s activity seeks to divides public opinion. However, PSPD said the responsibility of the Lee administration, which has taken a matter about which no internal consensus has been reached to the international community, is even greater.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]