Lee In-young "No Content on North Korean Nuclear Plant" Opposition "Must Resolve Own Problems" Political Turmoil

Lee "No mention of nuclear power in the data
Can't help but think it's because of the election"
Lee Nak-yeon "Unrealistic, low-level politics"
Kim Eun-hye "Must reveal the truth behind the document process"
Na Kyung-won also says in interview "Should be disclosed"

[Asia Economy Reporters Lee Ji-eun, Lee Hyun-joo, Jeon Jin-young] In response to opposition party allegations that the Moon Jae-in administration tried to build nuclear power plants in North Korea during the inter-Korean summit at Panmunjom in April 2018, Minister of Unification Lee In-young officially refuted the claims, stating that "after directly reviewing the materials, there was no such content at all."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the morning of the 1st, Minister Lee appeared on TBS Radio’s "Kim Eo-jun’s News Factory" and said, "We urgently reviewed about 40 pages of materials related to the New Economic Map of the Korean Peninsula, which was claimed to contain such content, but there was not even a single mention of nuclear power plants." He added, "As the department responsible for overall discussions, the Ministry of Unification has never had any discussions about building nuclear power plants in North Korea under any circumstances." He further commented, "From a politician’s perspective rather than a minister’s, one might think (the opposition) is doing this because of the election," and dismissed the claims by saying, "Every time there is an election, the opposition often intensifies their attacks using terms like North Korea scare tactics, leftists, or left-wingers."

As the opposition party threw volatile controversies ahead of the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections, ruling party figures simultaneously stepped onto the battlefield to provide a protective shield. On the morning of the same day, party leader Lee Nak-yeon said at the National Assembly’s Supreme Council meeting, "The opposition’s idea that North Korean nuclear power plants could be secretly constructed is unrealistic," and criticized it as "old and low-level politics that bring out colorism whenever elections approach." Floor leader Kim Tae-nyeon also stated, "Building nuclear power plants in North Korea using South Korean technology and equipment without U.S. consent would violate the Korea-U.S. Atomic Energy Agreement and conflict with U.N. sanctions against North Korea," calling the claims "absurd and a ruinous McCarthyism that undermines democracy."

Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 1st and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

Yoon Young-chan, a lawmaker from the Moon Jae-in Blue House, also actively clarified the issue. Yoon appeared on the radio and said, "It is true that President Moon handed over a USB to Kim Jong-un, the North Korean General Secretary," but added, "However, there was no mention of nuclear power plants inside." Regarding the internal documents from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy containing nuclear power-related content, he explained, "Since it was right after the Panmunjom inter-Korean summit and before the June Singapore North Korea-U.S. summit, they likely predicted that economic cooperation would become active on the premise of North Korea giving up its nuclear weapons," and added, "It is possible that energy cooperation was being considered. It is a natural process."

Following the Blue House’s strong backlash, which declared "legal action," ruling party figures have launched a counterattack, but the opposition party shows a sense of urgency to "turn the tide this time." They have pushed to disclose the relevant documents to resolve the suspicions. This appears to be a strategy to exploit the difficulty of publicly revealing documents exchanged between the two heads of state. Kim Eun-hye, spokesperson for the People Power Party, demanded, "Before deeper confusion arises, President Moon Jae-in should clarify the reality of the ‘mystery documents,’ including the circumstances of the North Korean nuclear power plant order, and take responsibility." Former lawmaker Na Kyung-won, a People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor, also said in a radio interview, "I think it would be better to disclose everything."

Former Future United Party (now People Power Party) lawmaker Na Kyung-won is holding an urgent press conference with anti-nuclear phase-out civic groups on the 31st at the fountain in front of the Blue House in Jongno-gu, Seoul. They pointed out the current administration's double standards on nuclear power as documents revealing the Moon Jae-in government's plan to support North Korean nuclear power were exposed through media reports. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Regardless of the fact-finding, both ruling and opposition parties are keenly watching the impact of this controversy on the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections. The political battle will intensify or fade depending on public opinion between the frames of "lavishing aid on North Korea" and "North Korea scare tactic politics," but until a clear outcome emerges, internal political noise is expected to continue strongly.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.