Shortly after his meeting with US President Joe Biden in New York, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was allegedly caught on a hot mic calling US legislators “idiots.”
According to a translation by The Washington Post, Yoon was seen telling colleagues in a now-viral video, “It would be so embarrassing for Biden if these idiots don’t pass it in Congress.”
At the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment Conference in New York City, Yoon and Biden met on Wednesday.
The president of South Korea probably made the comment in relation to Biden’s pledge of $6 billion in funding to the Global Fund, an international agency that seeks to end HIV, TB, and malaria.
Congress would need to approve the $6 billion in US spending.
According to The Post, Yoon’s remarks were not intended to criticize the United States, according to a statement from South Korea’s presidential office on Thursday.
According to the news source, Yoon’s spokesman said that he was really talking about the South Korean parliament and that he didn’t use the name Biden but rather a phrase with a similar pronunciation.
Yoon appeared to be insulting people, and Michigan GOP Rep. Peter Meijer joked about it in a tweet by writing, “hey, only we get to say that.”
Yoon has never before held an elected position, making him a political newbie. Since his inauguration in May, his popularity rating has sharply declined.
When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited South Korea last month, the country’s leader received criticism for declining to meet with her.
Yoon’s office denied that he was planning to ignore the Speaker and stated that he was on vacation.
Nevertheless, Yoon has taken steps to fortify his nation’s relationship with the US since taking office, especially when it comes to concerns like protecting global supply lines and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
As Yoon declared, “Our two countries will pursue even closer coordination in response to immediate global challenges,” as Biden visited South Korea in May.
No matter what, it is apparent that nobody on the international scene respects Biden.
South Korea’s president has no issues claiming the US president is full of it, and he has no problems insulting members of Congress while doing so.
