A shooting at a dinner event for the White House press corps drew condemnation from South Korea’s ruling and opposition parties, which said violence and terrorism cannot be tolerated under any circumstances.
Kang Jun-hyeon, senior spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said in a written briefing on the 26th that it was fortunate the situation ended without escalating into a serious bloodshed. He offered sympathy to President Donald Trump and White House officials who may have felt anxious.
Kang said peace cannot be assured when people try to resolve conflict through violence, and urged overcoming differences through rational dialogue and democratic compromise.
He said he hoped the incident would help end attempts to express views through terror, adding that the Democratic Party would also use it as an opportunity to reflect on and practice the political principles of peace and democracy.
Cho Yong-sul, spokesperson for the People Power Party, called the shooting a serious crime that should be strongly condemned regardless of political stance. He expressed deep sympathy to U.S. citizens and President Donald Trump, saying they would have been deeply shocked.
Cho said the incident was not limited to a specific individual but a shared threat everyone must guard against. “Violence can never defeat democracy,” he added, again strongly condemning what he called a violent act of terror.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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