Opposition Blasts Lee for Citing Disputed History Book, Revealing Currency Smuggling Method

President Lee Jae-myung is facing mounting criticism for citing "Hwandan Gogi," a book widely regarded as a historical forgery by academics, during a government ministry briefing and publicly rebuking the head of Incheon International Airport Corporation, a former opposition politician.

The opposition People Power Party and other conservative groups on Wednesday uniformly condemned Lee's remarks as "dangerous and inappropriate." The controversy began during a Ministry of Education briefing on January 12, when President Lee questioned Park Ji-hyang, chairwoman of the Northeast Asian History Foundation.

"People who study Hwandan Gogi are derisively called 'Hwanppa,'" Lee said to Park. "Does the Northeast Asian History Foundation not research ancient history? Isn't Hwandan Gogi a historical document?"

Hwandan Gogi is a book claiming that ancient Korean ancestors ruled most of the Eurasian continent beyond the Korean Peninsula. Mainstream historians consider it a forgery.

Park responded that "the theories and claims of professional researchers are far more persuasive than those of amateur historians, so we have no choice but to accept the opinions of professional researchers."

As the controversy grew, the Presidential Office moved to contain the damage. "The president's mention of Hwandan Gogi was neither an endorsement of its claims nor an instruction to research or review it," the office said.

Presidential spokesperson Kim Nam-jun explained that "the question was intended to encourage those responsible for establishing a clear view of history to fulfill their role by researching historical issues with a critical perspective."

President Lee also drew criticism during a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport briefing the same day for publicly describing a method of illegally smuggling foreign currency out of the country.

Lee raised his voice at Lee Hak-jae, president of Incheon International Airport Corporation, asking about the technique of hiding foreign currency inside books. "I'm asking whether it's possible and whether you do it, so why do you keep dodging?" the president said.

Lee Hak-jae responded on social media Wednesday, writing, "Now the whole world knows that 'hiding dollars in book pages goes undetected.'" He added that "illegal foreign currency smuggling is customs' responsibility" and that "even Incheon Airport Corporation employees with 30 years of experience don't know about book-page dollar detection unless they work in security screening."

The People Power Party criticized the revelation, saying "the book-page dollar method was used in the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case."

Some observers note that both Park and Lee Hak-jae were appointed during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. Rep. Na Kyung-won of the People Power Party harshly criticized the president, saying "the questions were trivial, nitpicking, and petty attempts at public humiliation."

Critics say more measured remarks are needed given that the entire briefing process is broadcast live.