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South Korean President Yoon caught on hot microphone calling US Congress “f***ers” who could “humiliate” Biden if they don’t pass on the $6 billion UN aid he promised after meeting the president at the UN
- Yoon, who took office in May, made the comment after Biden promised the additional funds at the UN General Assembly
- He was seemingly unaware that he was caught on a live microphone
- “How could Biden not lose face if these f***ers don’t make it through Congress?” he told Foreign Minster Park Jin
- Yoon chatted with Biden and posed for a photo at the meeting of world leaders in New York
- The scornful comments went viral in Yoon’s homeland
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South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was caught on a hot microphone calling US lawmakers “f***ers” who could humiliate President Biden by not passing the additional $6 billion in aid he promised to the Global Fund of the World. United Nations.
Yoon, who took office in May, made the comment after Biden promised the extra money at the UN General Assembly, seemingly unaware that he was caught by a live microphone.
“How could Biden not lose face if these f***ers don’t make it through Congress?” he told Foreign Minster Park Jin on Wednesday, according to an Agence France-Press translation.
The Washington Post put it differently: “It would be so humiliating for Biden if these idiots don’t make it into Congress.” Moments before that, Yoon talked to Biden and posed for a photo at the meeting of world leaders in New York.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was caught on a hot microphone calling US federal lawmakers “f***ers” who could humiliate President Biden by failing to pass the additional $6 billion in aid to the United Nations Global Fund to give
“How could Biden not lose face if these f***ers don’t make it through Congress?” he told Foreign Minster Park Jin, according to a translation by Agence France-Press
Handing over an additional $6 billion to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria would require Congressional approval.
The disparaging comments went viral in Yoon’s home country – a YouTube clip of the comments had more than two million views and “f***ers” became a no. 1 trending topic on Twitter in South Korea.
Critics attacked the Korean leader for insulting a key ally – Washington is stationing 27,000 troops in South Korea to counter threats from North Korea.
Park Hong-keun, the leader of South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party, criticized Yoon’s “dirty language that tarnished the US Congress” as “a major diplomatic accident.”
“He didn’t speak publicly on stage, but casually, and while I don’t know who recorded it and how, I actually think it should be verified,” a South Korean official told reporters afterwards, Yonhap said.
Yoon, who took office in May, made the comment after Biden promised the extra money at the UN General Assembly, seemingly unaware he was caught on a live microphone
“I think it is highly inappropriate to make a link between private remarks and diplomatic achievements,” the official added, citing criticism that Yoon had caused a diplomatic disaster. “It is very unfortunate that such talk is about a diplomatic disaster while he is doing everything he can to complete a demanding schedule in the national interest of the Republic of Korea.”
Yoon, a political novice, has received low ratings in his few months in office due to a series of missteps.
In August, he raised eyebrows when he failed to meet US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when she was in South Korea because he was on a staycation. Some claimed he deliberately avoided the speaker for fear of retaliation from Beijing.
As part of his budget for fiscal year 2023, Biden requested $2 billion for the Global Fund, the first part of a three-year $6 billion pledge he made at the conference.