Unification Minister's Advisory Committee Member Also Receives Subsidies... Controversy Over 'Conflict of Interest'

Launch of Promotion Committee to Replace North Korea Human Rights Foundation Role
'Private Support' Advisory and Subcontractor Selection Simultaneously
Conflict of Interest Concerns... Ministry of Unification "Will Strictly Recuse"

It has been confirmed that some members of the advisory committee to the Minister of Unification, created to replace the 'North Korean Human Rights Foundation' whose launch has been delayed for seven years, have been selected as recipients of subsidy support projects from the Ministry of Unification. While the committee is responsible for deciding the direction of support for the promotion of North Korean human rights at the civilian level, concerns have been raised about potential conflicts of interest as they are also receiving related subsidies.

According to a comprehensive report by Asia Economy on the 14th, the Ministry of Unification selected 15 organizations, including Corporation SaveNK and Corporation North Korean Human Rights, as '2023 North Korean Human Rights Promotion Activity Support Project Subsidy Recipients' on the 3rd of this month. This measure was taken in response to the delay in launching the North Korean Human Rights Foundation, and a newly allocated budget of 2 billion KRW for this year will be distributed among the organizations. The subsidy amounts for each organization will be decided as early as the end of this month.

Minister of Unification Kwon Young-se Photo by Yonhap News

Three days later, on the 6th, the Ministry of Unification also launched the North Korean Human Rights Promotion Committee as an advisory body to the minister. This was also intended to respond to the delay in the foundation's launch, with 12 experts appointed as the first-term members. The committee held its first meeting on the 10th and will perform roles such as ▲advising on support for civic organizations (NGOs) ▲preparing for the launch of the North Korean Human Rights Foundation ▲collecting opinions for the promotion of North Korean human rights.

The problem is that some of the committee members who are supposed to advise on support for civilian organizations have simultaneously been selected as subsidy recipients. This includes Kim Beom-su, CEO of Corporation SaveNK; Kim Tae-hoon, Chairman of Corporation North Korean Human Rights; and Kim Il-ju, Advisor of Corporation North Korean Human Rights (also co-representative of the Citizens' Group for the Correct North Korean Human Rights Act). It is also known that some others among the members are directly or indirectly involved in activities with organizations that will receive subsidies.

According to Article 5, Paragraph 3 of the Regulations on the Composition and Operation of the North Korean Human Rights Promotion Committee (Ministry of Unification Ordinance), committee members must be disqualified from advising or deliberating on matters where they or the corporations or organizations they belong to have special interests. Furthermore, Paragraph 4 of the same article stipulates that if a member falls under the disqualification criteria of Paragraph 3, they must voluntarily refrain from advising or deliberating on the relevant agenda.

In principle, committee members who overlap with subsidy recipients for North Korean human rights promotion activities should be effectively excluded from the committee’s core function of 'advising on NGO support' going forward. Although the committee does not have the authority to decide the budget for supporting civilian organizations, the influence exercised by the members cannot be ignored given that it is an advisory body to the minister that determines the direction of support.

The 1st Meeting of the North Korean Human Rights Promotion Committee held on the 10th
[Photo by Ministry of Unification]

An official from a North Korean human rights organization, who requested anonymity, said, "Deciding the direction of subsidy projects while also receiving subsidies clearly presents a conflict of interest," adding, "If they applied for subsidy projects, they should have voluntarily refrained from being appointed as committee members, and the Ministry of Unification should draw a clear line to prevent North Korean human rights activities from becoming politicized or subject to unnecessary misunderstandings."

The Ministry of Unification explained that the subsidy recipients were selected through a separate review by a subsidy recipient selection committee composed of internal and external experts, and that this process was independent of the appointment of the North Korean Human Rights Promotion Committee. However, it is known that concerns have arisen within the organization about the possibility of future audits uncovering conflicts of interest. Since these members are public officials, their activities may fall under public official conflict of interest regulations.

The Ministry of Unification also acknowledged these concerns but explained that it was difficult to exclude organizations currently active in the field from the pool of candidates due to practical career and expertise criteria. A ministry official said, "When selecting subsidy recipients, we checked whether the organizations had any disqualification or avoidance reasons and collected confirmation letters," adding, "In the future, we will exclude North Korean Human Rights Promotion Committee members who fall under these criteria from advising or deliberating on subsidy projects related to North Korean human rights promotion activities."

Meanwhile, the North Korean Human Rights Act, first proposed in 2005, was unanimously passed by the National Assembly in 2016 after 11 years. However, seven years after the law’s enactment, the North Korean Human Rights Foundation, the key institution for implementing the law, has yet to be launched. The foundation must be established to investigate the actual conditions of North Korean human rights and conduct related research, but the Democratic Party has continuously refused to recommend director candidates for the opposition party’s quota.

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