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Freedom House in Panmunjom. (Hankyoreh archives)

South Korea’s Ministry of Unification (MOU) rejected a request by the United Nations Command (UNC) to use Freedom House, a building in Panmunjom, for an event commemorating the 67th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement.

“We turned down a request by the UN Command to use Freedom House,” a Unification Ministry official told reporters on July 21.

When asked about the reasoning behind the MOU’s decision, the official said it had taken “into consideration both the COVID-19 pandemic and inter-Korean relations.” The official said that “the Unification Ministry is not blocking the armistice agreement ceremony and has no authority to do so.”

“We’ve postponed our original plan to resume tours of Panmunjom for similar reasons,” the official added.

“Because of the Unification Ministry’s decision, we’ve decided to hold the armistice agreement ceremony at a different location in Panmunjom,” a UNC spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Undercurrents of tension between S. Korean MOU and UNC

On July 27 of each year since 2013, Freedom House has hosted the UNC’s ceremony for the armistice agreement, which halted hostilities in the Korean War. The MOU’s refusal to approve usage of the facility this year forces the UNC to hold the event at a different location.

There have been undercurrents of tension between South Korea and the US about the UNC’s use of Freedom House this year. Some sources say the move reflects the Unification Ministry’s irritation at the US military’s undue intervention in inter-Korean relations. That intervention has included using UNC authority to block passage through the DMZ for inter-Korean cooperation projects.

By Park Byong-su, senior staff writer

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