[Opinion] Patriots One Day, Mercenaries the Next

“Although our third challenge, called “Peace and Unification,” is awaiting us, we will be able to overcome the challenge thanks to your endeavors,” said then-Unification Minister Chung Dong-young on February 1, 2005 to Korean soldiers of the Zaytun Division stationed in Irbil, Iraq.

“When we are outside the country, we can discover what patriotism really is,” Chung added. After having lunch with soldiers, he proposed a toast to the troops.

Chung, now the United New Democratic Party (UNDP) presidential nominee, has completely changed his view on the Zaytun troops in two years and eight months. He claimed Wednesday at a party general meeting that he opposes extending the deployment of the Zaytun Division and said, “We must not propagate the idea that we can improve Korea by selling its young men’s blood. Grand National Party candidate Lee Myung-bak must answer whether or not Korean troops should be used as mercenaries.”

Chung’s visit to the Zaytun base was seen as a political move to gain the upper hand prior to the presidential election. Although he was serving as the head of the presidential National Security Council at the time, his visit was a far cry from his responsibilities.

A government official pointed out that, “The Zaytun base must not be a tourism attraction for politicians and cabinet members.” Chung, who swallowed the sweetness of Zaytun, is now spitting at it in order to win votes from anti-American and left-leaning groups.

It was senseless to call those he praised as the patriots one day, mercenaries the next. Our soldiers, who risk their lives to do their duty in the scorching desert, have become mercenaries blinded by money in his eyes almost overnight. It’s hard to believe that the Chung we knew of in February 2005 is the same Chung that we now have today. Korea dispatched troops to Iraq for peace and reconstruction missions, spending hundreds of billions of won in the process. Although a minister and a presidential candidate may have different interests, how can the same person completely change his views on the same issue? It is disappointing to see Chung change his words in accordance to the situation so easily.

Bang Hyeong-nam, Editorial Writer, hnbhang@donga.com