[Editorial] Something fishy with government’s announcement of defections

Posted on : 2016-04-12 18:13 KST Modified on : 2016-04-12 18:13 KST
Blue House
Blue House

The South Korean government’s actions with the recent group defection of employees at an overseas North Korean restaurant have been as strange as the incident itself. Most notable is the way the Ministries of Unification and Foreign Affairs - the two Cabinet agencies in charge of defector issues - have totally allowed themselves to play second-fiddle to intelligence organizations. The situation seems to offer some insight into the way the Park administration makes and executes its North Korea policy decisions.

Before now, the principle has been deal with defector issues behind closed doors, given the human rights concerns and relations with the countries in question. When it has become necessary to share information, that job has been handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is in charge of foreign relations. This time, however, it was the Ministry of Unification that made the sudden announcement. Moreover, sources with both ministries said they were completely unaware of the facts before the defectors arrived in Seoul. Obviously, there has been almost nothing of substance reported by the Unification Ministry. Instead, it appears to simply be passing along whatever the National Intelligence Service leaks to suit its needs. It‘s a case of an intelligence organization calling the shots for the administration.

The result has been a situation that can only be called abnormal. First, there are concerns about harm coming for the defectors’ family members. There may also be issues with the safety of fellow restaurant workers who did not come along. If China harbors ill feelings about the details coming to light, there‘s a chance it may become even harder for defectors to come to South Korea in the future. It’s also a bit odd that the defectors managed to pass through a few Southeast Asian countries and arrived in Seoul just two days or so after leaving their restaurant, which is reportedly in China. Even defectors currently living in the South have been baffled.

The bigger issue here concerns the aims of the NIS and Blue House. There’s no doubt that the NIS has played a key role in all this. But there’s only one institution that controls the NIS and can call the shots for the Ministries of Unification and Foreign Affairs, and that’s the Blue House. It’s tough to believe the Unification Ministry when it says the announcement wasn‘t made on Blue House orders. The ministry has said its decision was based on “sufficient discussions with the relevant institution.” But if it didn’t know anything about the case beforehand, there wouldn‘t really have been anything to discuss. It doesn’t add up.

Whatever the circumstances, this second-fiddle treatment of the two ministries is hardly the hallmark of a normally functioning administration. That’s one reason people have speculated that the unusual announcement in this case was meant to stir up conservative public opinion ahead of the Apr. 13 general election. Not long afterwards, the administration also leaked information about the defection last year of a colonel formerly with the general reconnaissance bureau in charge of Pyongyang’s South Korea operations and the family of a North Korean diplomat. Something smells here.

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