March 1, 2026  [Photo=Yonhap News]

There is an ongoing debate between the ruling and opposition parties regarding President Yoon Suk-yeol's remark during his March 1st Independence Movement Day speech, stating that he "respects the North Korean regime."

In a statement on March 1st, Ham In-kyung, spokesperson for the People Power Party, said, "On a day commemorating the sacrifices of our ancestors who stood against guns and swords shouting for freedom, the public feels heartbroken by the President's remarks that place a dictatorial regime that tramples on freedom on a pedestal of 'respect.'"

She further criticized, "North Korea is a controlled state that thoroughly oppresses the freedom of its citizens and does not even allow basic rights. It is a regime where there is no freedom of expression or freedom of movement. While the President's remarks may have been a message for inter-Korean dialogue, they were certainly not something to be said to the public on March 1st."

Spokesperson Ham emphasized that the shouts of March 1st were cries for freedom, stating, "March 1st is a day to reaffirm the value of freedom. The nation that the patriotic martyrs sought to regain was not a nation of dictatorship and control, but a free South Korea."

She also offered a sharp criticism, saying, "What the President should have said on March 1st was a promise to further strengthen free South Korea, not to respect the North Korean regime. However, President Yoon's remarks only read as an attitude that is conscious of North Korea."

Meanwhile, Jeon Soo-mi, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, responded in a written briefing by stating, "What President Yoon mentioned about 'respecting the regime' is by no means an endorsement of North Korea's dictatorship, but rather a painstaking peace initiative by the nation's highest responsible official to recognize the other party as a realistic dialogue partner."

She also countered, "We express deep regret that the People Power Party has once again incited national division with outdated red-baiting tactics."

Reporter Lim Yo-hee