Rival political parties continue to lock horns after President Yoon Suk Yeol made his first comments to the controversy surrounding his crude, off-the-record remarks captured at a fundraising event in New York last week.

Main opposition Democratic Party(DP) floor leader Park Hong-keun accused Yoon of giving a false explanation without sincerely apologizing to the public on Monday. Walking into work earlier in the day, the president asserted that untrue reports such as this can strain bilateral relations with allies and added that the truth must be uncovered.

Park also called for the dismissal of foreign minister Park Jin, national security adviser Kim Sung-han and senior presidential secretary for public relations Kim Eun-hye for failing to prevent the diplomatic debacle, adding that the DP will submit a motion to dismiss the foreign minister unless the president complies by the end of the day.

The ruling People Power Party(PPP), on the other hand, blamed the DP and the media for colluding to manipulate and distort the facts to harm the administration.

PPP floor leader Joo Ho-young accused local broadcaster MBC, which first reported the remarks, of arbitrarily and intentionally including provocative subtitles without confirming the facts.

Ex-PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong suggested collusive ties between the broadcaster and the DP, referring to the DP floor leader’s criticism of Yoon over the remarks coming some 34 minutes before MBC's initial report.

While at a fundraiser in New York last week, the president was caught on video crudely describing lawmakers who fail to support legislation promoted by the president, a comment his office contends was in reference to the DP and had to relation to U.S. President Joe Biden nor the U.S. Congress.