'Is losing an ankle to a landmine just an unfortunate accident?' Ahn asks on Facebook
People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo on Thursday criticized President Lee Jae Myung for describing a demilitarized zone (DMZ) landmine explosion as an "unfortunate accident" in his Armed Forces Day address, saying the English version posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website translated the phrase as "unfortunate accident" — a rendering that "erased the perpetrator's responsibility."
Ahn raised the issue on his Facebook page, asking, "President Lee Jae Myung, is a soldier losing his ankle to a landmine just an 'unfortunate accident'?"
"The English version of the Armed Forces Day address, delivered Oct. 1, was posted on the Cheong Wa Dae English website on Wednesday," Ahn said. "The president described the incident in which our soldiers lost their ankles to a North Korean landmine as an 'unfortunate accident' — and in the English translation, that became 'unfortunate accident,' meaning something that happened due to bad luck."
Ahn also cited statements by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha, saying the JCS had already concluded in its final investigation on Oct. 5 that the landmine was planted by North Korea south of the Military Demarcation Line. "That is precisely why even Ambassador Kang Kyung-wha, appointed by the Lee Jae Myung government, repeatedly said it was clearly not an 'unfortunate accident,'" he said.
"And yet, in the English version released nearly 10 days later, Cheong Wa Dae made no mention of North Korea's attack, assault or provocation — instead, it erased the perpetrator's responsibility and wrapped it up as an 'unfortunate accident,'" Ahn added.
Ahn said that when South Korea's ambassador to the UN demanded an apology from North Korea on Oct. 8, Pyongyang used remarks by the Unification minister as a shield, claiming that "even Jeong Dong-young acknowledged it was difficult to determine" what had happened.
"Next, won't they brandish the English version of the president's address?" Ahn said. "It is obvious they will dodge responsibility by saying, 'Even the president of South Korea called it an unfortunate accident.'"
raining@heraldcorp.com
