What will it take to sensitize lawmakers to the need to raise funds to prepare for Korean reunification? Apparently, the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was not enough.
Earlier this month, the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee of the National Assembly suspended discussions on a bill aimed at creating a so-called “unification jar” ― a metaphor for an account that will store funds to finance reunification.
The bill proposes to create a unification account under the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund and store carryovers of the fund. Each year, the government sets aside some 1 trillion won from its budget to support the mutual exchange and cooperation between the two Koreas. In recent years, however, only a small fraction of the funds has been used due to the frozen inter-Korean ties. The unspent money has been returned to state coffers.
The government’s plan is to transfer the unused funds to the new account and build a unification fund. Its declared aim is to raise some 56 trillion won by 2030. But as the carryovers from the South-North cooperation fund alone would not be enough to attain this goal, the government plans to collect donations from citizens and corporations. It will also contribute its share with funds from the budget.
The idea of the unification jar was warmly received by the general public as concern about political instability in North Korea has sharply increased following Kim Jong-il’s death.
At the moment, the North’s new leader, Kim Jong-un, appears to be in control. But his lack of experience and shaky grip on power is fueling uncertainties. When the mourning period for his father ends, his leadership will be severely tested.
Furthermore, economic difficulties and food shortages continue to plague the isolated regime. To ease the plight facing the North’s 24 million people, Kim should open up the moribund economy. But the 20-something new leader has still shown no signs of moving in that direction.
Under these circumstances, reunification could come “like a thief in the night,” as President Lee Myung-bak often puts it. Although we prefer a gradual process toward unification, it could come abruptly against our wish.
Therefore, what we need do now is to prepare for it. One of the things that should be high on the agenda is to raise funds as the costs of reunification are expected to be astronomical.
But to kick off fundraising, the government needs opposition lawmakers’ endorsement of its plan. The Assembly’s unification panel stopped deliberations on the bill as its members from the main opposition Democratic United Party rejected it.
The DUP lawmakers argue that the government’s attempt to set up a unification fund is preposterous in light of its reluctance to use even the existing Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund.
They also assert that the unification jar scheme could mislead North Korea into thinking that the South has started a project aimed at bringing it down to accelerate an absorption process.
The DUP lawmakers’ arguments do not make much sense. First, they need to understand that the funds to be placed in the unification jar is intended to finance the post-unification processes of integrating the two Koreas, while the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund is designed to promote exchanges under the current divided situation.
If the two Koreas are reunited, it would be the South that has to bear the costs. Hence, it is the South that should be prepared. If we make no preparatory efforts just because the North could interpret them as a threat, we would end up bemoaning the increased burden later.
Preparations for unification should not be seen from a partisan perspective. That is a lesson that we should learn from Germany. West German leaders, despite their different political affiliations, maintained consistency in their policy toward East Germany.
In this regard, the DUP lawmakers should approve the bill without further delay. By starting to raise funds for unification, we can demonstrate to the world our determination to achieve it on our own. The DUP lawmakers would do the nation a great favor by passing the bill before the close of the 18th National Assembly.
