 NKnet Senior Researcher Kim Young Hwan Image: NKnet |
It has been suggested that the unification
of the Korean peninsula must start with abolishing the moral differences between North and South Korea. Only when the two Koreas overcome the following
factors will unification be possible: the difference in human rights, political
ownership, democratic awareness and attitude, democratic debate and acceptance
of opinion, sense of law, respect of others, and protection of the minority.
At
last week’s 2014 International Conference on Reunification of the Korean
Peninsula: Achieving National Integration in the Aftermath of Reunification of
the Korean Peninsula, hosted by the Network for North Korean Democracy
and Human Rights [NKnet], Kim Young Hwan spoke on this subject, stating, “Because the ethical
differences make Korean reunification difficult, bringing the two together must be a priority.”
Senior Researcher at NKnet, Kim went on to
point out that “the political difference between North and South Korea is a
problem, but not as problematic as the difference in morals,” and, “governing a reunified Korea under these conditions will bring political,
economical, and societal difficulties and disorder, and will most likely lead to the quick disintegration of unification.”
Kim went on to note that North Korean law
has not fostered a law-abiding mindset among its residents, rather, people
“choose to obey the law based on power and bribes.” In order to govern the
North Korean citizens who are used to these kinds of societies, they need a
leader with advanced political leadership skills for this “unification of civilizations.”
He called for the administration to work toward
a solution to “overcome political confusion and conflict after reunification during the transition period,” and stressed that “the government needs to predict the
changes in ideology, political preference and behavior and be prepared to persuade the North Korean residents.”
“They need to be wary of the changes stemming from North Korea’s anxiety and meticulously prepare for
reunification under these situations,” he stated, calling on the government to “mediate
the different concerns of political power and contemplate about how to unite
the North and South Korean citizens as one.”
Kim asserted the most practical way to
reunify the Korean peninsula while considering these morals gaps is for South Korea to absorb the North. He pointed out the
impossibility of reuniting the two Koreas while Kim Jong Eun maintains the
current system, and that even the introduction of a new system would only
create a power vacuum and disorder, rendering the absorption of North Korea the
most practical alternative.
“Even if Kim’s administration violates his
vested interest and leads it to ruins, it will not ensure reunification,” he pointed out. “It is most practical to disintegrate the
current North Korean regime and allow a new system or administration to go in
and unify the two Koreas through absorption.”
“The political system that the reunified
Korea chooses will determine whether it walks the path of national integration
or faces the tragedy of re-division due to conflicts between the North and the
South,” he concluded, proposing a form of federalism as the best way forward, considering the moral gaps between the two Koreas, reunification expenses, and
respect for North Korea’s self-reliance.
Topics such as “Addressing North-South
Social Conflict and Achieving National Integration in the Aftermath of
Reunification of the Korean Peninsula” and ‘Case Studies of Social Changes and
National Integration in Divided Nations and Countries in Transition” were also
subjects of discourse during the conference.
