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Lee In-young, who has been nominated to become the next South Korean unification minister, speaks during a press conference in front of the Office of Inter-Korean Dialogue in Seoul on July 21. (Park Jong-shik, staff photographer)

Lee In-young, who has been nominated as South Korea’s Unification Minister, said he thinks South Korea-US joint military exercises scheduled for August should be delayed.

Lee made the remark in a brief press conference, which lasted only 14 minutes, in front of the Office of Inter-Korean Dialogue in Seoul’s Jongno District on the morning of July 21. The nominee qualified the remarks as representing his “personal position.”

“From what I’ve heard indirectly of the Defense Ministry’s position, there is a practical need [to carry out the exercises] in connection with the transfer of wartime operational control [of South Korean forces], and there are also limitations imposed by COVID-19. We should make a strategically flexible decision that takes into account both the Defense Ministry’s needs and the containment of COVID-19,” Lee said.

While framing his remarks as his personal opinion, Lee essentially made a public call for the postponement of the joint exercises, which could determine the fate of affairs on the Korean Peninsula in the second half of the year.

”Plan to pursue bold policy based on independent judgment

“In regard to the area of humanitarian exchange and cooperation — feeding people, treating them when they’re sick, and reuniting them with their loved ones before they die — I would pursue policy based on our independent judgment without discussing that in the South Korea-US Working Group,” Lee said.

“My long-standing judgment is that we need to distinguish what we can do on our own from what requires a solution [in the form of exemptions from sanctions against North Korea] in the South Korea-US Working Group. If I’m confirmed as the unification minister, I will announce this plan and make an official proposal [to North Korea].” Lee’s plan is to “immediately pursue” food and fertilizer aid, pharmaceutical and medical aid, and reunions for families divided by the Korean War to pave the way to “restoring dialogue” and “implementing agreements and promises.”

Promising to “pursue very bold change at the Unification Ministry,” Lee announced a modest plan for trade in kind aimed at jump-starting inter-Korean relations. This plan takes into account the difficulty of carrying out cash or financial transactions between South and North Korea because of US and UN sanctions on North Korea.

“We could start on a very small scale by trading our rice and medicine for the water of Mt. Kumgang and Mt. Baekdu and the alcohol of the Daedong River and then, when the conditions are right, expand into other areas. If I’m confirmed as the unification minister, I’ll present a more detailed plan,” he said.

“I want to pursue individual reciprocal visits by elderly members of the divided families. It would be nice if the reunions could take place at Mt. Kumgang, but if that’s not feasible, we could propose and move forward with a plan of starting by holding the reunions, even if on a very small scale, at Panmunjom,” Lee said.

“In the long term, we need to move toward setting up reciprocal missions in Pyongyang and Seoul,” Lee said in a response submitted to the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on Tuesday. Lee’s nomination hearing will be held on July 23.

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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