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President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks to President Joe Biden of the US on Sept. 21 (local time) following a meeting for the Global Fund in New York. (Yonhap)

After meeting with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday (local time), President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, was caught on camera using profanity while seemingly referring to the US Congress.

With the controversy growing, the South Korean presidential office claimed that the foul language was actually directed at the Korean National Assembly, not the US Congress.

On Wednesday afternoon, Yoon attended the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s Seventh Replenishment Conference held in New York, after which he had a brief, 48-second conversation with US President Joe Biden before leaving the venue.

As Yoon was leaving, he was caught on camera saying what sounded like, “It’d be humiliating for Biden if those jackasses in the legislature don’t pass it.” Yoon was standing next to Foreign Minister Park Jin while making the comment.

At the event, Biden brought up the many contributions made by other countries to fight diseases like malaria and tuberculosis. The US president also promised to “work with our partners in Congress to contribute another US$6 billion to the Global Fund [. . .] bringing the overall global pledge, as of today, to US$14 billion.”

Yoon’s comment, which made use of profanity and vulgarity, has been interpreted as referring to how the US Congress could possibly put the brakes on Biden’s plan to financially contribute to the eradication of these diseases.

Regarding Yoon’s remarks, the presidential office initially responded by characterizing attempts to draw a link between “private remarks” and the administration’s “diplomatic achievements” as “inappropriate.”

However, as controversy around Yoon’s comments continued to grow, Kim Eun-hye, the senior presidential secretary for press affairs, tried to explain on Thursday that Yoon was referring to a potential situation in which the local National Assembly “does not approve” and “throws out” his plan.

“In his speech, President Yoon pledged US$100 million from Korea, which is reflected in the budget, and he was sharing his concerns with Foreign Minister Park Jin about losing face if the main opposition party, which controls the budget deliberation process, does not approve the funds,” Kim said.

Nevertheless, even if Kim’s explanation becomes accepted, controversy is expected to continue since this would imply that the president was ridiculing the opposition Democratic Party.

By Kim Mi-na, staff reporter; Bae Ji-hyun, staff reporter

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