Firing of unification minister a prerequisite for restoring US alliance, PPP floor leader says

People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik said Wednesday that Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young is the only one denying the strain in the South Korea-US relationship — a rift acknowledged even by South Korea's chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and its ambassador to Washington — and called for the minister's dismissal as a prerequisite for restoring the alliance.

Jeong made the remarks at a press briefing at the National Assembly, describing the minister as "the most shamefully subservient figure toward North Korea."

He leveled sharp criticism at the minister, saying he "clamors about peaceful coexistence, seeks to provide medical aid to North Korea, and even follows the North's two-state theory while forgetting his duties as unification minister." Jeong added: "What is this behavior if not pro-North Korea sympathizing? Calling it what it is — that is a statement of fact, not red-baiting."

On the intraparty tensions surrounding Kim Ji-yong, the nominee for inaugural head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, whose confirmation hearing was held Wednesday, Jeong said the real issue was never whether Kim was aligned with former President Yoon Suk Yeol, but rather whether he was aligned with Democratic Party leader Lee Jae Myung.

He went on to say that "the social media accounts of the president and the Gyeonggi Province governor were buzzing every day over a single agency chief nominee," calling it a lame-duck phenomenon in which ruling party figures openly tried to undermine the president's appointment authority. He added that "the national government and Gyeonggi Province — home to 14 million people — were thrown into disarray over a single agency director post."

On Kim himself, Jeong said that four years ago, while serving as head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's criminal division, Kim had publicly opposed the Democratic Party's push to strip prosecutors of investigative authority and argued for preserving supplementary investigative powers. "It is hard to understand how someone who opposed the Democratic Party's gutting of prosecutorial reform is now seeking to lead the very organization born out of that party's dismantling of the prosecution," he said.

Jeong also addressed the case of Cheong Wa Dae Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, who had publicly offered his resignation. "More than three weeks have passed and his resignation has not been accepted — there is even speculation it may be rejected," Jeong said, urging the presidential office to at least clarify whether Kang would be replaced or asked to stay. "That much transparency is the least the public deserves. Resolve Chief of Staff Kang's status without delay," he said.

He went on to say that "if Cheong Wa Dae has time to set up an absurd task force for a golf meeting with President Donald Trump, it should quickly settle what it plans to do about the chief of staff."

On the government's announcement that it would relocate the ministries of foreign affairs, unification and national defense to Sejong, Jeong questioned whether the plan gave adequate consideration to the nature of each ministry's work. He said moving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Sejong would seriously hamper diplomatic efficiency given that embassies from around the world are concentrated in Seoul, and that relocating the Defense Ministry also warranted careful review from a national security standpoint.

He was particularly concerned that "with the commander in chief based in Seoul, placing the Defense Ministry in Sejong would be inefficient." He also warned that moving the ministry to the rear could send a message that Seoul and areas north of the Han River would be abandoned in a crisis — potentially emboldening North Korea into reckless provocations.

Jeong also said it was inappropriate to relocate the Overseas Koreans Agency to Sejong, noting that Incheon had been chosen as its home three years ago specifically to ensure accessibility for overseas Koreans. He further noted that the Constitutional Court's 2004 ruling — which declared Seoul's status as the capital a matter of customary constitutional law — remains in effect.