Kim Young-ho "Moon Relied Too Much on North Korea"... Ruling Party Calls for 'Human Rights Agenda'

Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun Repeatedly Emphasizes North Korean Human Rights Issues by Case
"Abductees, POWs, Defectors in China... Moon Administration Indifferent"
Kim Young-ho "Considering Various Measures... Close Cooperation with Other Ministries"

Kim Young-ho, the nominee for Minister of Unification, announced his intention to work on resolving issues related to abductees, Korean War prisoners of war, and North Korean defectors residing in China. The ruling party emphasized the issue of 'North Korean human rights,' which had been silent during the previous administration, and urged that it be made an agenda item for the Ministry of Unification.

On the afternoon of the 21st, during the confirmation hearing before the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, Kim responded to a question from Yoon Sang-hyun, a member of the People Power Party, who asked, "What was most regrettable about the Moon Jae-in administration's North Korea policy?" Kim stated, "Relying too much on North Korea's sincerity regarding the nuclear issue hinders the formulation of realistic policies."

Kim Young-ho, nominee for Minister of Unification, responding [Photo by Yonhap News]

Rep. Yoon criticized, "President Moon Jae-in met Kim Jong-un in April 2018 and promised complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but instead of denuclearization, nuclear armament has increased. Especially, despite three summits, there was never a single mention of North Korean human rights issues, which I find the most painful."

Rep. Yoon mentioned various issues related to 'North Korean human rights' and stressed that these should be made 'major agenda items.'

He noted that there were 100,000 abductees during the Korean War and over 500 abductees after the war, emphasizing, "Looking at those abducted in the past 10 years, Pastor Kim Dong-sik, who supported defector aid activities, has already passed away, and six others including missionary Kim Jung-wook have not returned. Yet, the previous government never raised these issues even once."

Yoon Sang-hyun, Member of the People Power Party [Photo by Yonhap News]

Furthermore, in response to Kim's statement that "there are about 500 surviving Korean War prisoners of war," Rep. Yoon said, "That was in 2010, and now it is estimated that only about 100 remain," urging that measures similar to the 'Freikauf' during the East and West Germany division period should be considered to bring them back to South Korea.

Freikauf, meaning 'purchase for freedom' in German, refers to the strategy where the West German government paid economic compensation to the East German communist regime to repatriate dissidents detained for political reasons. It has been suggested in reports by the National Human Rights Commission that South Korea should apply similar measures to resolve issues such as separated families, abductees, and Korean War prisoners of war.

Rep. Yoon also urged the Ministry of Unification to make efforts regarding the 'forced repatriation' crisis faced by about 2,000 North Korean defectors residing in China. He said, "Although the Chinese government is a party to the 'Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees,' it does not grant refugee status at all and classifies them as illegal residents, pushing them toward the risk of repatriation. Please actively put this on the agenda as well."

Kim Young-ho stated, "I always keep various measures such as Freikauf in mind," and added, "Regarding the issue of North Korean defectors in China, I will closely consult with other ministries including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

Meanwhile, the Yoon Seok-yeol administration has emphasized 'North Korean human rights' and carried out an organizational reform of the Ministry of Unification in April, upgrading the India Cooperation Bureau to the Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs Office. It is known that an additional reorganization plan is under review to reduce the Ministry of Unification's staff from over 600 to around 500, and personnel in departments related to exchanges, cooperation, and aid to North Korea are expected to be reassigned to work on North Korean human rights and related tasks.

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