Hot mic catches South Korean president swearing after talking to Biden
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has gone viral after a hot mic caught him swearing about U.S. lawmakers, reports CNN.
Video footage seems to capture a comment he made after briefly conversing with President Biden at a Wednesday conference for the Global Fund held in New York City. The YouTube video, published by South Korean television broadcaster MBC, has amassed over five million views since the news channel posted it.
In the video, Yoon walks along the stage after the brief meeting with Biden before speaking to his aides. CNN reports that he appears to say, "It would be so embarrassing for Biden if those f---ers at the National Assembly don't approve this [bill]."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Yoon's swearing remark seems to be in response to Biden's pledge to contribute $6 billion to the Global Fund, which focuses on combating HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria in the developing world. Biden's pledge would require congressional approval to become a reality.
Yoon has previously received backlash from his opponents for missing the viewing of Queen Elizabeth's lying in state in London, which he explained was due to heavy traffic. His opponents also criticized him for failing to show up to meet U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) when she visited South Korea last month.
House Foreign Affairs Chair Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) responded to the swearing, saying, "Our relationship with South Korea is too close for too long, for a slippage of words or anything else to destroy that," Politico reports.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.
-
Democrats push for ICE accountabilityFeature U.S. citizens shot and violently detained by immigration agents testify at Capitol Hill hearing
-
The price of sporting gloryFeature The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics kicked off this week. Will Italy regret playing host?
-
Fulton County: A dress rehearsal for election theft?Feature Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is Trump's de facto ‘voter fraud’ czar
-
Japan’s Takaichi cements power with snap election winSpeed Read President Donald Trump congratulated the conservative prime minister
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
‘One day fentanyl will come back — and there will be little anyone can do’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
