Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok on the 12th called on the People Power Party and other conservative opposition parties to observe limits in their attacks on the government, saying that "there is no ruling or opposition party when it comes to foreign policy and security."
"The Lee Jae-myung administration is maintaining a foreign policy and security response that puts the national interest first," Kim said at a meeting of the party's supreme council.
On the government's security measures, Kim said the military had "launched an operation to remove North Korean mines laid south of the Military Demarcation Line, the first such operation in the history of the DMZ," and that Seoul had "formally demanded an apology from the North for violating the armistice agreement." He added that the government had "demanded a clear correction after the Ukrainian government broke an agreement and disclosed that North Korean prisoners of war had been repatriated to South Korea."
Turning to recent attacks by the opposition, Kim asked, "If you insult the troops carrying out a dangerous operation inside the DMZ and undermine their morale, doesn't that only benefit the North?" He also asked, "What citizen with self-respect and reason would call it normal to denounce government measures to protect the safety of the prisoners and their families, and to send a letter of thanks to Ukraine, which broke an agreement between states?" He added, "How does it help public safety to jeopardize the livelihoods of residents in border areas by calling for a resumption of loudspeaker broadcasts and the scattering of leaflets toward the North?" and urged the party to "show the weight befitting the main opposition party."
On a recent series of security breaches in the financial sector and elsewhere, Kim said the party would "respond more forcefully to hacking" and that "a more thorough response system must be built to keep pace with advances in AI and cyberattack technology." He noted that the National Assembly's National Policy Committee had "adopted the heads of the five major banks as witnesses for the parliamentary audit," adding that lawmakers would "thoroughly examine their investment in security, staffing, early detection of abnormal signs and prevention of wider damage, and whether victims were protected, and seek measures such as strengthening relief procedures for victims."
Kim also cited the collection of back taxes from Kwon Hyuk, chairman of Sido Shipping, saying "the largest tax delinquency case on record has been resolved," and thanked the National Tax Service's special task force on large-scale delinquency. "Cumulative national tax delinquencies exceed 5 million cases, and the amount owed tops 110 trillion won," Kim said, criticizing the failure to pay legitimately assessed taxes as "a serious act of unfairness and the worst possible conduct, one that disrupts the tax order and erodes public trust." He added that the party would "eradicate large-scale tax delinquency through institutional reform and stronger administrative capacity."