[Editorial] LKP lawmaker should be apologizing for diplomatic leak, not denouncing political suppression

Liberty Korea Party lawmaker Khang Hyo-shang

Khang Hyo-shang, a National Assembly member with the Liberty Korea Party (LKP), has denounced the disciplinary action pursued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) against a councilor at the South Korean Embassy in the US (identified by the initial “K”) for leaking him the content of a telephone conversation between the South Korean and US heads of state. Khang declared that he would “not sit idly by” while K was “unfairly scapegoated in the process of suppressing a ‘troublesome’ opposition party lawmaker.” The brazenness of this is truly astonishing. What Khang ought to be doing is reflecting and apologizing for exploiting the conversation – a Class 3 secret – for political ends, tarnishing the state’s credibility in the process.

Following an investigation into the conversation leak, MOFA decided on May 28 to lodge criminal complaints against Khang and K. The ministry also plans to demand severe disciplinary measures against two staffers who allowed K access to the content of the conversation between the leaders. It makes complete sense to hold diplomats sternly accountable for leaking the content to the outside rather than managing it appropriately.

Yet we have not seen so much as a shred of remorse from Khang Hyo-shang. Both he and the LKP have characterized the leak as “information in the public interest to raise awareness of the reality of administration’s humiliating diplomatic approach and agitation of the public.” But in a position statement submitted through his attorney, K insisted that he has “not intentionally leaked confidential information.” K said that he “mistakenly shared some of the wording” after Khang kept questioning him on the basis behind predictions of a possible May visit to South Korea by US President Donald Trump, claiming that he would “consult it to get a sense of the mood.” With the MOFA investigation determining that K leaked diplomatic secrets to Khang on no fewer than three occasions – including the content of working-level discussions for a South Korea-US summit – the claims of a “mistake” are quite likely an attempt to evade responsibility.

But it is also ridiculous to hear Khang claiming “political suppression” by the Moon Jae-in administration and sharing sob stories about how “heartbreaking” it is to watch his old high school classmate being persecuted. The one responsible for his classmate’s suffering is Khang himself, who divulged Class 3 secrets for political purposes. If he truly feels any responsibility for what his “junior” is going through, he should first apologize to the people of South Korea before attempting to obscure the essence of the situation with this kind of sophistry. What does it say about Khang’s behavior when even Lee Myung-bak administration-era Senior Secretary to the President for Foreign Affairs National Security Chun Young-woo and LKP-affiliated National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee Chairman Yoon Sang-hyun have denounced it as “irresponsible?”

The LKP leadership needs to stop trying to exploit this business to achieve its political aims. Hopefully it will behave in a way befitting a mature leading opposition party by holding Khang to account and apologizing to the South Korean people.

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