South Korean Rep. Song Young-gil urged Seoul to consider reconstruction work in Ukraine and Russia, saying the war was on the verge of ending, The Korea Herald reported Wednesday.
Song is a six-term member of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and serves as President Lee Jae Myung’s special adviser for peace and diplomacy. He made the remarks at a parliamentary forum in Seoul on South Korea’s ties with Moscow after the war in Ukraine, which began in 2022.
Song said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would eventually seek a compromise with Russia. He argued the war was unsustainable because young Ukrainians were dying while the United States and NATO supplied weapons but sent no troops to fight. Song also described Zelenskyy as “almost at his breaking point.”
Song said Seoul had not actively supported Ukraine, while efforts to improve relations with Russia had brought little substantive progress. He called South Korea’s goal of maintaining good relations with both Europe and Russia a “dilemma.” He also pointed to what he described as positive sentiment between South Koreans and Russians.
Rep. Kim Joon-hyung of the Rebuilding Korea Party, another forum speaker, said Moscow was growing cynical toward Seoul as efforts to restore ties stalled. Kim urged South Korea to move beyond what he called rigidity in its foreign policy to find a way forward with Russia.
The Korea Herald linked recent political tension between Seoul and Kyiv to Zelenskyy’s public disclosure of Ukraine’s transfer of North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea. Seoul says the handover was arranged on the understanding that it would remain confidential.
