Hot mic catches South Korean president swearing after talking to Biden


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]."
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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.
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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.
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