KB News Desk
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday urged government ministries to respond sternly to false or distorted claims portraying the administration’s efforts to promote peaceful coexistence with North Korea as communist or pro-Pyongyang.
Lee made the remarks during the Ministry of Unification’s policy briefing at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, referring specifically to online claims that his administration was spending tens of billions of won to build a “North Korean library” to aid Pyongyang.
The “library” in question is the Northeast Asia Peace Archive, a facility scheduled to open in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, in early 2027.
The archive is an expanded and relocated version of the North Korea Information Center currently housed at the National Library of Korea in Seoul, where North Korean materials are accessible.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said the facility’s concept and name had been revamped after its original name prompted criticism that the government was building a library for North Korea. The new facility is expected to add materials on a century of modern history involving the Korea’s ties with the United States, China, Russia and Japan.
“They are saying the Lee Jae Myung administration is spending tens of billions of won to build a North Korean library, saying Lee Jae Myung is a ‘commie’ and a bad person,” Lee said.
“This is not something ministries should take lightly,” he added. “You must respond firmly to such malicious disinformation and take legal action if necessary.”
Lee asked which administration had launched the project, and Chung said it began under the Moon Jae-in administration and continued through the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
“Well then, that should pardon us,” Lee said with a laugh. “Even a project pursued under the Yoon administration is being falsely portrayed as an initiative that the current government is pushing to help North Korea.”
Lee added that “well-intentioned initiatives, particularly those involving national security and inter-Korean relations, can easily be distorted and weaponized against those pursuing them.”
