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Korea’s unified women’s team during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. (Hankyoreh archives)

On May 20, Ministry of Unification (MOU) Spokesperson Yoh Sang-key said that the “May 24 measures” have “effectively lost much of their efficacy.”

“The government no longer views the May 24 measures as an obstacle to pursuing inter-Korean exchange and cooperation,” he added. The term “May 24 measures” refers to independent sanctions on North Korea imposed by the Lee Myung-bak administration on May 24, 2010, two months after the sinking of the ROKS Cheonan on Mar. 26 of that year. This year marks their 10th anniversary.

Speaking in a regular briefing on May 20, Yoh explained that the May 24 measures have “undergone greater flexibility and exceptions over the course of several administrations.”

“Going forward, the administration will continue its efforts to broaden the space for inter-Korean relations and establish real peace on the Korean Peninsula,” he continued.

The content of the May 24 measures chiefly included a suspension of inter-Korean economic cooperation and trade projects apart from the Kaesong Industrial Complex; prohibitions on visiting North Korea outside of the Kaesong Complex and Mt. Keumgang; a ban on the operation of North Korean vessels in South Korean waters; a ban on new investment in North Korea; and the suspension of North Korea support efforts apart from humanitarian aid.

But in September 2011, the same Lee administration that had implemented the May 24 measures approved North Korea visits for representatives of seven major religious orders. The “flexibility measures” continued to increase under the Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in administration, leaving the measures more or less nullified. Exceptions to the measures have been broadened to various inter-Korean exchange and cooperation efforts, including approval of a trilateral distribution cooperation project for the Rajin-Hasan area under the Park administration in November 2013, as well as approval of the use of the Man Gyong Bong passenger ferry by a North Korean artistic group visiting South Korea for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics under the Moon administration in February 2018.

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]