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President Yoon Suk-yeol stands and greets the crowd at an event commemorating the 69th founding anniversary of the Korea Freedom Federation held at the Jangchung Gymnasium on June 28. (presidential office pool photo)

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol remarked on Wednesday that “anti-state forces with a distorted historical understanding and an irresponsible view of the state were prone to demanding that the UN Security Council lift sanctions on the communist gang in North Korea despite its efforts to enhance its nuclear arsenal and kept pushing for an end-of-war declaration that would dissolve the UN Command.” The apparent target of Yoon’s savage attack on “anti-state forces” was his predecessor, President Moon Jae-in.

“We need to have a correct understanding of history, a responsible view of the state and a clear attitude toward national security,” Yoon said while delivering a message at an event celebrating the 69th anniversary of the Korea Freedom Federation, which was held at Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul on Wednesday.

“The chorus of calls for an end-of-war declaration sought to prevent the automatic activation of the UN Command and its forces in the event of another invasion by North Korea. It was an absurd appeal for a false peace, which would require us to trust the good intentions of the very enemy that conspires to invade us,” he added.

The last time a sitting president attended the Korea Freedom Federation’s yearly anniversary celebration was 24 years ago, when Kim Dae-jung made an appearance.

Yoon’s remarks appear to have been aimed at the Moon administration, which had been working on the Korean Peninsula peace process.

“More than anything, an end-of-war declaration will mark a pivotal point of departure in creating a new order of ‘reconciliation and cooperation’ on the Korean Peninsula,” Moon said in a speech before the UN General Assembly in September 2021.

“Once North Korea’s denuclearization has reached a stage that is considered irreversible, the UN should ease its sanctions on the North to push for more denuclearization,” Moon said during a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron of France (one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council), in October 2018.

During his speech, Yoon underlined what he had done to strengthen national security through the Korea-US alliance.

“The national security of our free Republic of Korea had been critically weakened,” Yoon said, making a jab at his predecessor.

“Following my inauguration, I have put the Korea-US alliance on a nuclear basis and strengthened that alliance to deter North Korean provocations and the threat of its nuclear program,” Yoon said.

“We have moved beyond a foreign policy that was beholden to North Korea and mocked by China to a ‘global pivotal’ foreign policy that involves close cooperation with all countries in every corner of the globe that respect international norms,” he added.

The South Korean president identified “fake news and bizarre rumors” as threats to national security.

“There are far too many people who undermine and endanger the free Republic of Korea and deny the identity of the state through fake news and bizarre rumors, along with demagoguery based on falsehoods and fabrications. Those who would topple the free Republic of Korea or prevent its development are gathering forces and building organizations throughout our country,” he said.

But Yoon’s claim that an end-of-war declaration would “dissolve” the UN Command runs counter to the facts. When Moon returned to Seoul from an inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang on Sept. 20, 2018, he explained that an end-of-war declaration was not the same as a peace treaty and had nothing to do with dissolving the UN Command or withdrawing American troops from South Korea.

Yoon’s comments aroused sharp pushback from the Democratic Party, South Korea’s largest opposition party.

“We cannot suppress our shock at the attitudes betrayed by the president, which are no different from those found on Ilbe. We express our deep regret and concern about the president’s far-right view of inter-Korean relations. The president is the one who needs to refrain from ‘fake news’ and ‘demagoguery based on falsehoods,’” said Kwon Chil-seung, the party’s senior spokesperson.

Ilbe, short for Ilgan Best Jeojangso (Daily Best Storehouse), is an online community infamous for its far-right stance.

By Bae Ji-hyun, staff reporter

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