Jin Joong-kwon on Lee Jun-seok, who advocated for the "abolition of the Ministry of Unification": "He will continue to make foolish moves"

Lee Jun-seok "Does Establishing the Ministry of Unification Bring Unification... Waste of Taxpayer Money"

Former Dongyang University Professor Jin Joong-kwon. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon sharply criticized Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, for advocating the abolition of the Ministry of Unification following his call to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, saying on the 10th, "He will continue to make big and small foolish moves."

On the same day, Jin wrote on his Facebook, "Lee Jun-seok initially made a fuss about abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, but when the atmosphere turned strange, he brought in the unrelated Ministry of Unification as an exit strategy and switched to an outdated small government rhetoric," he said.

He pointed out, "He is trying to excuse his remarks by saying the background is not misogyny but neoliberalism. Since he lacks proper knowledge, foolishness is already programmed into him."

Earlier, on the 9th, Lee appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and directly stated, "The ministries I have always mentioned for abolition are the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Ministry of Unification."

He said, "It's not simply about not wanting unification, but separating diplomatic duties and unification duties can be inefficient in some ways," adding, "Unification is part of the broader framework of diplomacy."

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee also stated on his Facebook, "Just as having the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family does not resolve gender conflicts, having the Ministry of Unification does not particularly advance unification," and criticized, "On the contrary, gender conflicts worsened while the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family existed, and although I don't know what the Ministry of Unification has actively done under this government, the Inter-Korean Joint Liaison Office managed by the Ministry was blown up."

He continued, "Because it is a ministry with unclear division of duties and is thought to be ineffective, I believe the next government should revise the Government Organization Act. If Minister Lee In-young thinks it is a 'necessary ministry,' then the minister is not doing his job properly in a 'necessary ministry' and should be replaced," he argued.

Furthermore, he criticized, "It is public and government waste of taxpayers' money for an organization without achievements or clear duties to be maintained for decades out of inertia."

In response, Minister Lee replied on Facebook, "I will work harder as Minister of Unification to achieve improvements in inter-Korean relations, but I hope Leader Lee will stop displaying his insufficient historical awareness and social perception by calling for the abolition of the Ministry of Unification."

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