PPP is sending a delegation to Ukraine

Politics

Published: 30 May. 2022, 17:21 Updated: 30 May. 2022, 18:12

PPP is sending a delegation to Ukraine

People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok, center, campaigns in Daejeon on Monday ahead of local government elections. [YONHAP]

The conservative People Power Party (PPP) announced Monday that party leader Lee Jun-Seok will lead a delegation to visit Ukraine after the June 1 local government elections.

The party’s Special Delegation for Korea-Ukraine Freedom and Peace Solidarity, which will include Lee and other PPP lawmakers, will visit Ukraine in early June, with a detailed schedule to be announced later, according to a party press release.

The PPP offered “deep sympathy for the recent situation in Ukraine and wishes for an early peace” in the announcement, adding that the party’s delegates hope to “meet and comfort the Ukrainian people with good wishes from the Korean people.”

The release noted that the delegation would be the first from a political party in an Asian country, saying, “[The visit] will be a good opportunity to express the PPP’s support and solidarity with Ukraine and the party’s hopes for an end to the war as soon as possible.”

The PPP leader attended a live video address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the National Assembly in April. Lee uploaded a post to Facebook shortly after, in which he said, “The time has come for the ruling and opposition parties to open their minds and discuss both humanitarian support for Ukraine and greater direct support,” without specifying what the latter would entail.

While Korea is the world’s sixth largest weapons exporter, it has balked at Ukrainian requests for lethal weapons, citing the country’s diplomatic and security situations and the impact on its own military’s readiness posture.

Instead, it has provided Kyiv only with humanitarian relief and non-lethal military supplies such as bulletproof helmets, blankets and medical supplies, according to Seoul’s defense ministry.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov requested anti-aircraft weapons from then-Defense Minister Suh Wook during a call in early April. But Seoul has said it would be unable to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine.

In an April interview with NPR, Kim Jong-dae, a former defense official and visiting professor at Yonsei University's Institute for North Korean Studies, said that Seoul’s reluctance to deliver weapons aid to Ukraine stems partly from South Korea’s own reliance on Russian missile technology.

According to Kim, Ukraine is especially interested in South Korea’s Cheongung surface-to-air missiles, developed by LIG-Nex1. However, South Korea does not have large surplus Cheongung stockpiles, and supplying Ukraine would entail taking currently deployed missiles off the front lines.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]