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South Korean President Lee Myung Bak wants to axe the Unification Ministry, which handles relations with North Korea, aides said Jan. 16. Lee’s transition team plans to streamline the government, and the Unification Ministry is one of five ministries that would be shut down, merged or downgraded. (The other four ministries are maritime affairs, information/communication, gender equality and science/technology.) The team said a new ministry of foreign affairs and unification will be created, and that North Korea should be treated as another foreign country, though it is the one of most concern to South Korean policymakers.
Liberals, who hold the majority in the South Korean parliament, have said they will fight the proposal to close the Unification Ministry, claiming the closure will send the wrong message to North Korea, which is very sensitive to symbolism. However, North Korea’s perceptions are not as important as the reality of shifting economics and regional balances. Doing away with the ministry is less about a shift in policy than it is about streamlining the government and recognizing that inter-Korean relations are not what they were in the 1990s.
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