People Power Party leader Chang Dong-hyuk directly refuted President Lee Jae-myung's "fake news" claim, emphasizing that the crisis in the South Korea-U.S. alliance is a tangible reality. Chang intensified his offensive over the security vacuum, citing specific instances of protests from the U.S. side.
Chang opened fire through his Facebook account on Thursday, writing, "Once again, it was 'fake news.' The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) says it never posted such information." He took direct aim at the government's basis for intelligence judgment, asking, "Where did Minister Chung Dong-young hear this? What is President Lee Jae-myung believing?"
Chang went on to stress, "The U.S. Forces Korea commander lodged a protest with Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, and the intelligence chief at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul also strongly protested to the National Intelligence Service." He added, "The crisis in the South Korea-U.S. alliance is not a 'rumor' but a 'reality.'" He also dismissed the opposition's claim of "fabricated indictment" as the true "rumor," declaring, "Even if Kim Jong-un turns a blind eye, withdrawal of prosecution is off the table. Stop chasing a pipe dream."
The dispute was triggered when Unification Minister Chung Dong-young mentioned undisclosed information related to North Korea's nuclear facilities in Kusong. As details pertaining to state secrets on North Korean nuclear facilities were specifically discussed, a series of reports emerged indicating that the U.S. had expressed strong concerns about the South Korean government's intelligence management capabilities and security maintenance.
The reports stated that the U.S. had begun limiting high-level intelligence sharing with South Korea, prompting fierce criticism from the opposition, which interpreted this as a signal of a rift in the alliance. As the controversy spread, President Lee Jae-myung took to social media to label the reports as "fake news," personally refuting them and stepping in to douse the flames by asserting that there was no problem with South Korea-U.S. cooperation.
