A view of HMM headquarters in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul./Courtesy of News1

Seong Il-jong, a People Power Party lawmaker who chairs the National Assembly defense committee, said on the 10th that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had effectively acknowledged that the HMM Namu was hit, asking, "Mr. President, who said those who touch Koreans will be ruined, what will you do now?"

Posting on Facebook the same day, Seong said, "I am truly appalled that our government kept talking around it with 'an unidentified flying object' to the end, leaving aside the simple word 'attack'," and stated accordingly.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that a government joint investigation into the fire aboard the HMM Namu, which had been anchored in the Strait of Hormuz that day, confirmed that "an unidentified flying object struck the stern of the HMM."

Seong said, "In fact, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) already announced on the day of the incident that it was 'presumed to be an attack.' Even so, the presidential office from the next day called it a 'ship fire,' and from then on other government ministries also did not use the word 'attack.'"

Seong said, "By contrast, U.S. President Donald Trump used the precise expression right after the incident, saying, 'A Korean vessel was attacked.' Even so, our government has tried to deny the attack until now."

Seong said, "Because of the Lee Jae-myung administration's immense incompetence, they either truly did not know it had been attacked, or, even knowing it, tried to conceal it at all costs ahead of the election. Either way, it is a very serious problem."

President Lee Jae-myung warns on January 30 via his official X (formerly Twitter) account that he will respond firmly to transnational crimes targeting Koreans based in Cambodia./Courtesy of President Lee Jae-myung's X

He referred to a past instance in which President Lee Jae-myung, regarding scam crimes by a Chinese criminal organization in Cambodia targeting Koreans, wrote in Khmer on social media (SNS), "Touch Koreans and you will be ruined," and asked in return, "When such a grave situation has occurred in which the property and lives of citizens of the Republic of Korea are under threat, what will the president do now?"

He added, "The president must immediately deliver a forceful diplomatic message about this situation and make it clear that, whoever attacked our citizens, they will not be left alone."

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