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| People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok, right, speaks during a preparatory meeting for the party’s primary to select its presidential candidate at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. Yonhap |
By Nam Hyun-woo
Lee Jun-seok, chairman of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), stirred up controversy by calling for the dismantlement of South Korea’s Ministry of Unification, which is in charge of dealing with North Korea.
Lee claimed recently that ministries that have been failing to show results should be abolished, singling out the unification ministry as well as the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. However, his comments have drawn strong backlash from not only the ruling bloc, but also Lee’s own party, raising questions over his views on the reunification of the two Koreas.
Lee first created a stir during an interview with CBS radio, Friday, saying he has “always been calling for the dismantlement of the unification and gender equality ministries.”
He added, “The separation of the foreign affairs ministry and the unification ministry can be inefficient” and “the unification ministry has been the weakest and the most neglected ministry, because inter-Korean relations are being controlled by either Cheong Wa Dae or the National Intelligence Service.”
Lee continued commenting on Facebook on Saturday.
“Just like the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family does not resolve gender conflicts, the existence of the unification ministry does not make noticeable steps toward unification,” Lee wrote. “I believe the next administration should amend the Government Organization Act, because the ministry’s role is uncertain and it is not doing its job properly.”
He also criticized Unification Minister Lee In-young, saying, “If Lee thinks the ministry is necessary, then he is the one who is not doing his job properly.”
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| Unification Minister Lee In-young speaks during an event at the ministry’s Office of Inter-Korean Dialogue in Jongno District, Seoul, July 5. Yonhap |
Following criticisms toward his ministry, Minister Lee replied on Facebook on Saturday that “Chairman Lee should stop showing off his shallow historical awareness and social consciousness.”
The PPP chief and the minister continued exchanging salvos on Sunday. Minister Lee wrote Chairman Lee has a “weird understanding of gender equality,” firing back at the PPP leader’s criticism that the ministry’s event of presenting flowers to female workers on International Women’s Day was a waste of taxes. Chairman Lee replied that “the minister should improve his awareness of human rights” of North Koreans. Minister Lee wrote, “awareness of human rights starts from respecting others.”
As controversy grew, Lee Nak-yon, former prime minister and a presidential hopeful from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), joined the fray on Sunday.
“(Chairman Lee’s) claim is nonsense that anyone who knows about national tasks would never come up with,” he wrote on Facebook. “By mentioning the dismantlement of the unification ministry, South Korea’s policies on the Korean Peninsula will face questions and many adversities will follow in the country’s diplomatic relations and inter-Korean relations.”
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| Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon announces his policy pledges to enhance safety for women at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap |
Rep. Jeon Yong-gi of the DPK also bashed Chairman Lee’s claims. Jeon wrote on Facebook that the chairman’s claim that Taiwan, North Korea and China do not have unification ministries is not entirely accurate.
“When we look into the success case, West Germany had the Federal Minister of Intra-German Relations who was in charge of improving relations between East and West Germany,” Jeon wrote. “Lee’s claim is nothing but criticism with no proper understanding of history.”
Lee’s arguments are drawing a backlash from his own party as well.
Rep. Kwon Young-se of the PPP wrote on Facebook on Saturday that “state affairs are not mathematics” and the party does not need to incur the criticism of being an “anti-unification group.”
“Though the ultimate goal is unification, the current job of the unification ministry is to resume inter-Korean exchanges as a process of overcoming the two Koreas’ separation, and not to achieve unification right away,” Kwon wrote.
“The unification ministry has been doing a pathetic job under the current administration, but it doesn’t mean the ministry should be abolished. We can make it right after we (PPP) take over (after winning the presidential election).”
Opposition chief draws backlash for calling unification ministry ‘useless’
Source: Buhay Kapa PH
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