Unification minister pick signals S. Korea will stick to hard-line N. Korea policy

Posted on : 2009-01-20 11:24 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
New appointee had a leading role in Lee’s ‘Vision 3000’ and values South Korea-U.S. alliance over inter-Korean relations
 President Lee’s pick for minister of unification
President Lee’s pick for minister of unification

President Lee Myung-bak appointed Korea University Professor Hyun In-taek as the new candidate for Minister of Unification. The meaning of this appointment is simple and plain: the president plans to adhere to the existing hard-line policy toward North Korea and strengthen the foundation for policy execution. Indeed, Hyun worked as part of the foreign policy advisory council during the president’s election campaign and is known as someone who “sees eye to eye” with Lee. Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Lee Dong-kwan explained the background for the Cabinet reshuffle Monday by saying that Hyun played “a leading role in ‘Vision 3000: Denuclearization and Openness.’” In other words, the message is that there is to be no shift in North Korea policy, that things are to be done in the same way they have been done so far, and that no independent measures will be taken to improve inter-Korean relations and relieve the current conflict between the two Koreas.

Lee Dong-kwan introduced Hyun as a “North Korea policy ‘brain,’ fully versed in the North Korean situation,” but it is difficult to reconcile this with the facts. Hyun received his doctoral degree with a dissertation on “U.S.-Japan and South Korea-U.S. defense expenditures,” and he is a scholar in international politics who has studied issues related to foreign affairs and national security, including the Northeast Asian order, the North Korean nuclear issue and defense expenditures. For this reason, his name was brought up more frequently as a candidate for Cheong Wa Dae senior presidential secretary for foreign and security affairs or Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade than as a candidate for Minister of Unification immediately following the inauguration of the Lee administration last year. “It seems the president wishes to resolve inter-Korean relations within the greater framework of diplomacy like now,” a government official said.

Within the Unification Ministry, there is a mixture of anticipation and concern. The fact that Hyun is an expert close to the president is leading to anticipation, but the fact that he is a conservative international political scientist who values the South Korea-U.S. alliance more than the special nature of inter-Korean relations is said to be giving rise to concerns. Hyun expressed his aspirations by saying, “I have taken on a heavy responsibility at a difficult time, and I will do a good job of resolving inter-Korean relations and supporting the president’s philosophy.”

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