President Lee departs for France as PPP's Na blasts 'escapist junket'

People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won criticized President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday for departing for a state visit to France, calling the trip an "escapist junket."

Na made the remarks on her Facebook page, saying the entire country was in an uproar over what she described as a disastrous round of cabinet reshuffles involving Kim Seung-won, Yong Hye-in, Kang Shin-cheol and Hong Ji-seon, "yet the person with the power to appoint them — the one who should be cleaning up the mess — is on his way to Paris."

"Is he fleeing on a junket, leaving the house on fire and washing his hands of it?" Na said. "It is common sense and the natural order of things that the person who made the mess cleans it up. He should take responsibility and fix what he broke." She added that if the trip was not "a cowardly junket to dodge the immediate crisis," Lee should rescind the problematic appointments before boarding his flight to France.

Earlier Sunday, Lee departed from Seoul Airport for the state visit to France. The trip comes at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited South Korea in April and asked Lee to serve as co-chair of the Lumière Summit, an international film and audiovisual industry summit being held in France.

Just before departing, Lee posted on X, formerly Twitter, saying search and rescue operations were still ongoing for nine South Korean nationals reported missing in the Nepal flood disaster. "My heart is heavy and deeply saddened when I think of the families who have been anxiously waiting for news for more than 10 days since the disaster," he wrote. He added that he would continue to receive situation updates and take necessary action while in France. "My steps are heavy, but I will carry out my diplomatic duties for the national interest and future generations without wavering," he said.