On Wednesday, President Lee Jae Myung addressed the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s distribution of anti-North Korean leaflets. He expressed his belief that an apology might be warranted but admitted hesitating to speak out, fearing it could be misconstrued as pro-North Korean sentiment or spark ideological conflict.
During a press conference at the Blue House guesthouse marking the one-year anniversary of the state of emergency, President Lee responded to a question about potentially issuing a national apology to ease tensions with North Korea. This came after his recent social media post suggesting that the previous government’s leaflet operations had brought the country dangerously close to war.
Lee confessed that he’s been reluctant to speak up. While he’s relieved someone asked, he also wonder if he’s revealed too much of his thoughts.
Previously, on Monday, he posted on X (formerly Twitter), “We narrowly avoided war… thanks to the great Republic of Korea.” He shared an article stating that the military’s psychological operations against North Korea had preceded North Korea’s balloon launches.
President Lee criticized that they attempted to initiate a war under the guise of martial law, even sending balloons to North Korea. He warned that ignoring these covert acts of insurrection could lead to their resurgence in the future.