What Was the Truth about the “S. Korea-China Foreign Transaction During the Moon Regime”

2022-8-9, Cho Woo-seok Column, Sky eDaily [TRANSLATION]

The news worthy of attention these days is the remarks of the Foreign Affairs Minister Park Jin (박진). On 1 August, he simultaneously questioned the Chinese authorities, who demanded that the new [South Korean] administration implement the 3 Nos, including the Theater High Altitude Missile Defense system (THAAD) issue, and the then-ruling party Democratic Party of Korea (Deobureo Minjoo Party). “Wasn’t there some kind of behind-the-scenes agreement between the two that we didn’t know?” is a question raised. In fact, the 3 Nos is not something like a binding agreement, but is just a diplomatic principle of the previous regime.

It’s all too obvious why [South Korea] is protesting China pressuring the Republic of Korea with [the 3 Nos].  Minister Park is visiting Beijing on 8-10 August 2022, and this issue could emerge as the nucleus of the conflict between the two countries. Moreover, Minister Park’s questioning may be that the new government is aware of some form of diplomatic darkness during the Moon Jae-in regime, but is merely a circumlocution. If so, let’s uncover it. Combining the information I know, there was a secret agreement between the Democratic Party of Korea and the Communist Party of China in early 2017.

That’s why it is absolutely correct for the People Power Party’s Task Force on Investigation of the Breach of National Security to take the issue head-on. Here’s the story. In January of that year [2017], right before the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, 7 lawmakers of the Democratic Party, including Song Yong-gil (송영길), visited China and met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi. At the time, the domestic media viewed it simply, but that wasn’t the case. What was shocking was that Song Yong-gil and the Democratic Party first asked China to help them take power, and in return, promised to join China on major issues.

[For the sex bribery scandal of Song Young-gil, see here.  For Song Young-gil’s remarks absolving Kim Il-sung for his role in invading South Korea, starting the Korean War, see here.] 

It is in that context that the so-called 3 Nos was secretly agreed in relation to the THAAD deployment, which was an issue [for China]. At that time, they outlined the “diplomatic deal” that the ROK would not deploy additional THAAD, the ROK, the United States, and Japan would not form a 3-way alliance, and that the ROK would not participate in the U.S.-centered missile defense system (MD). Moon officially promised China the 3 Nos in October of that year, when he became president. Therefore, it is correct [to see Moon’s follow-up] as a confirmation of the Song Yong-gil – Wang Yi secret diplomatic agreement.

So what is the basis for the Song Yong-gil – Wang Yi secret agreement? At that time, one of the 3 largest security agencies in Korea detected the movement of the Song Yong-gil – Wang Yi secret agreement.  I will only reveal that the written report on it was sent up twice in that agency. The problem is that if this act was to gain power [by taking over the government, i.e., the presidency, the legislature, the judiciary, etc.], then the Democratic Party has committed a Gukki Nolan (“breach of the nation”) that is at the level of selling out the country. There was no national consensus at all at that time.

Therefore, it is right for the prosecution to start an investigation immediately. In fact, in the past 5 years, the Moon regime’s servile, pro-China policy had provoked public outrage. It has been a dark part of foreign policy since the birth of the Republic of Korea. At the end of 2017, the year Moon was in power, he went to China for a summit and was mistreated, and the [Korean] journalists [part of the presidential press pool] were beaten up, but [the Moon government] didn’t even lodge a single protest. The worst of these is Moon’s Beijing University speech. Remember that?

At the time, the so-called president of this country made an extremely disturbing remark that said, “China is a high mountain peak, South Korea is a small country.” He even vowed to “join the China Dream.” The 500-year Chosun Dynasty itself was a pitiful history of kowtowing to China, but did they truckle like Moon Jae-in in such a big way? Moon Jae-in’s remarks could be interpreted as an oath of allegiance to China by the Jusapa (Juche Ideologues; Kim Il-sungists) in South Korea.

[Truncated]

I’m still curious. What is the actual truth of the story about Song Yong-gil – Wang Yi’s secret agreement? And does the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, including Minister Park Jin, know the full account of the Gukjeong Nongdan [came to mean usurping and controlling the affairs of the state] of foreign affairs? If they know, are they willing to investigate to get to the truth?  The people are frustrated these days. This is due to the poor progress of the [investigations] of the cases of the West Sea civil servant [the Moon government accusing him of defecting to North Korea] and the forced repatriation of the defectors to North Korea [public’s low confidence in the government investigating these and other cases]. The people are yet again closely watching this incident.

Source:  https://www.skyedaily.com/news/news_view.html?ID=163835