[Edaily Reporter Kim Hyun-jae ] Amid ongoing discord between South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies, the People Power Party criticized the situation as “a sign of a rift in U.S.-South Korea relations” after Rep. Jeong Cheong-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, was denied a U.S. visa.

Choi Eun-seok, Chief Spokesperson for the People Power Party, stated in a commentary on the 9th, “Although the specific reasons for the visa issuance delay have not yet been confirmed, it is difficult to dismiss the possibility that Rep. Jeong’s history of anti-U.S. activities, as well as the government and ruling party’s failures in diplomacy toward the U.S. and the erosion of trust in the ROK-U.S. alliance, may have influenced this situation.”

He continued, “There have been reports that NIS Director Lee Jong-seok’s planned visit to the U.S. in March fell through, and that the U.S. side has even put on hold the issuance of visas and approval of diplomatic status for NIS personnel to be dispatched to the Korean Embassy in Washington,” adding, “If warning signs continue to emerge across the board in diplomacy, intelligence, and security, the government must thoroughly examine whether there are any issues with communication and trust between South Korea and the U.S.”

Rep. Jeong, a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Unification’s Americas Subcommittee, had originally planned to visit the United States, Canada, and Brazil starting on the 11th. However, as he had not received his U.S. visa by the 8th—three days before his scheduled departure for the parliamentary audit of overseas diplomatic missions—he was transferred from the Americas Subcommittee, which oversees the U.S. and other regions, to the Europe Subcommittee, which handles Europe.

On his social media account, Rep. Jeong stated, “I applied for an official travel visa from the U.S. Department of State for the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee’s parliamentary audit of overseas diplomatic missions, but since it is still under review, I have no choice but to proceed with the audit in Europe,” adding, “I’m not sure why it’s still under review. It’s regrettable.”

Reports regarding the lack of coordination between South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies also continue to surface. Reports emerged regarding the “5th Working Group Meeting on North Korean Cyber Threats among South Korean, U.S., and Japanese Diplomatic Authorities,” held in Washington, D.C., last June, stating that “the U.S. refused the participation of the National Intelligence Service (NIS)” and that NIS Director Lee Jong-seok’s planned visit to the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) in March fell through. The NIS strongly denied the reports, stating, “There was never any plan for Director Lee to visit the NGA.”

Amid this situation, five-term lawmaker Na Kyung-won also took to social media to criticize the situation, calling it “a back-to-back ‘snub’ following the cancellation of NIS Director Lee Jong-seok’s visit to the U.S.” Rep. Na said, “It is an unprecedented double embarrassment that the head of the nation’s intelligence agency, responsible for national security, has been completely sidelined from the U.S.’s core intelligence network, while a member of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee—who previously served as the ruling party’s leader—is not even allowed to set foot on the soil of an ally.”

Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo also took to social media to say, “If entry was denied even now, despite having served as the ruling party’s leader, it is no exaggeration to say that this goes beyond a personal matter and amounts to the U.S. rejecting a visa for the Lee Jae-myung administration.” He added, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must explain to the public in detail the circumstances surrounding this visa suspension and the contents of its consultations with the U.S. side.”