Presidential office rejects liberal agenda of peaceful existence of two Koreas

PRAGUE -- President Yoon Suk Yeol's office on Thursday denounced liberal politicians' emphasis on the peaceful coexistence of two Koreas, reiterating the conservative administration's goal of achieving ultimate peace through reunification as enshrined in the "Unification Doctrine" in August.

Contrasting reunification of the separated nations with coexistence, an official of the South Korean presidential office said in Prague on condition of anonymity that the peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula "has garnered the support of the international community, including the Czech Republic."

The official added that those who think otherwise and instead follow the concept of the peaceful coexistence of the two Koreas -- either by prioritizing peace over reunification or by introducing the confederation system on the peninsula -- would "sympathize with the intention of the North Korean regime."

This was in response to former liberal President Moon Jae-in's claims that the current discourse over the peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula "needs a complete review," at a forum Thursday in Gwangju to mark the sixth anniversary of the inter-Korean summit and the comprehensive military agreement in 2018.

At the same event, Moon’s former chief of staff Im Jong-seok said that Seoul should "face the reality and accept the notion of the confederation of the two Koreas." He also urged the repeal of the National Security Act.

Im called for the revision of the Constitution, which states that the territory of South Korea "shall consist of the Korean peninsula and its adjacent islands," saying the article "triggers an aversion to a proactive peace process and reconciliation (between the two Koreas), as well as a longstanding ideological conflict."

The same article served as the grounds for the Yoon administration's argument that Seoul must push for peaceful reunification. The official of the presidential office described those sympathizing with the concept of peaceful coexistence with North Korea as being "anticonstitutional."

North Korea declared in December 2023 that reunification "can never be achieved" as its leader Kim Jong-un described the two Koreas as "states hostile to each other." In August, South Korea announced its reunification doctrine to pursue a unified Korean Peninsula that is "denuclearized, free, peaceful and prosperous," primarily by expanding North Korean people's rights.