In an interview with the Dong-A Ilbo on August 31, National Security Office Director Wi Sung-lac dismissed President Trump's "purge" remark as the result of "external forces" and stated that he would "take action." It sounds like a threat. Composite by Hanmi Ilbo.

U.S. President Donald Trump recently offered a blunt assessment of the current situation in South Korea, stating that it "looks like a purge or a revolution." He has exposed the strange landscape of South Korean democracy through the eyes of an outsider. 

However, during an interview with the Dong-A Ilbo at the Yongsan presidential office on August 31, National Security Office Director Wi Sung-lac countered this, stating, "The Lee Jae-myung administration is conducting lawful investigations in accordance with the rule of law. This is consistent with the values of freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law." 

He further added, "There are forces that fed this narrative to President Trump, and we will look into it and take action to ensure such issues do not recur." 

This statement, coming from the heart of the administration, was a classic piece of political rhetoric intended to mask all issues with a veneer of legality. But the reality is different.

The repeated attempts to obtain arrest warrants for former President Yoon Suk Yeol are a prime example. Even if a court may procedurally issue a warrant, the use of compulsory investigations against a former president in a democratic country must be predicated on caution and political balance. Yet, the current administration has not hesitated to engage in behavior akin to a political purge while hiding behind legal procedures.

What is shocking is that Democratic Party members of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee viewed the CCTV footage of former President Yoon’s detention. According to his legal team, this is a clear violation of human rights and a breach of positive law.

The special counsel investigation into First Lady Kim Keon-hee is a similar case. While it passed through the legal process of a National Assembly resolution, targeting the family of a president immediately after a regime change reads as a typical scene of political retaliation. The South Korean government chose as a political tool a path that an advanced democracy would have avoided to preserve the legitimacy of power.

The pressure on the media is even more blatant. Tax audits, advertising pressure, and broadcasting regulations directed at critical media outlets are packaged under the guise of "lawful administration," but the real goal is to neutralize their function as critics of power. In other words, freedom of the press—the heart of democracy—is being trampled under the mask of legality.

The discussion about establishing a special tribunal to reshape the judiciary in a specific direction is also dangerous. The idea of separately handling insurrection cases or cases involving former presidents may outwardly promote neutrality and expediency, but its essence is an institutional mechanism that enables power-friendly trials.

The reality that these attempts, which evoke shadows of historical people’s courts, are being discussed under the procedural cloak of "legal amendments" is a sign of democratic collapse.

The problem lies in the attitude of National Security Director Wi Sung-lac. He denied this reality and defended the regime with flowery terms like "freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law." 

In particular, his remark that he would "look into it and take action" sounds less like the language of diplomatic management and more like a threatening message toward critical forces. The insinuation that he will track down how the message was delivered to Trump is a notion unthinkable in a free society. 

This is not an attitude of clarifying a misunderstanding to an outsider, but rather a warning that the administration will punish criticism itself.

This is also naive in terms of alliance management. A former U.S. president openly questioned the normality of South Korean democracy; minimizing this as a mere misunderstanding and simply saying he will "take action" is merely an evasion of responsibility. 

If the government refuses to face the crisis of trust in South Korean democracy and instead blames external forces, the international community will no longer fully trust South Korea’s freedom and rule of law.

The problem is not external input. The real problem is the political purging and abuse of power happening internally. It is precisely these anti-democratic acts, committed in the name of the law, that endanger South Korean democracy.

Hanmi Ilbo states this clearly: Trump’s "purge" remark is not a misunderstanding but a reflection of the reality inside South Korea. The persistent requests for warrants against former President Yoon, the special counsel for Kim Keon-hee, the pressure on the media, and the controversy over a special tribunal are all unthinkable in a normal democratic state. 

The moment National Security Office Director Wi Sung-lac cloaked this in false packaging to serve as a shield for the regime, his words remained as deception to the public and distrust to our allies. His remark from the Yongsan presidential office on August 31 symbolizes the pathetic current state of South Korean democracy today.

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