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| From the left are Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group CEO Koo Kwang-mo and Hyundai Motor Group Vice President of Kim Yong-hwan, among business leaders who will visit North Korea. Yonhap. |
South Korea's advance team arrives in Pyongyang Sunday
By Yi Whan-woo
Top executives from the country's top four conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, will accompany President Moon Jae-in to Pyongyang for possible talks on inter-Korean business cooperation.
This bodes well for a planned third summit between Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but at the same time could trigger disputes about the effectiveness of their visit as sanctions against North Korea remain intact.
Presidential chief of staff Lim Jong-seok said Lee, Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Kim Yong-hwan, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and LG Group CEO Koo Kwang-mo will join the 200-member Seoul delegation that will leave for Pyongyang, Tuesday.
Lim said the group will also include Hyun Jeong-eun, the chairwoman of Hyundai Group, the operator of the now-suspended tour project in North Korea.
Lim's announcement comes in the lead-up to Moon's first visit to Pyongyang from Tuesday to Thursday for his third summit with Kim.
The two leaders agreed to meet in the North Korean capital sometime this fall during their first summit at Panmunjeom, April 27. The second summit also took place at Panmunjeom on May 26.
Whether to include leaders from the top conglomerates as delegates drew keen attention because it was seen as a symbolic gesture for South Korea's willingness to resume cross-border economic cooperation.
Seoul has been cautious about violating the U.N. Security Council's economic sanctions on North Korea and has been prudent about resuming relevant cooperation with Pyongyang.
Other 200 delegates will include presidential staff, Cabinet members, politicians, religious leaders, labor activists, women's rights activists, musicians and journalists.
Among them are Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, Defense Minister Song Young-moo, Culture Minister Do Jong-hwan, Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Kim Young-choon, ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Lee Hae-chan and leaders of two liberal opposition parties _ Chung Dong-young of the Party for Democracy and Peace and Lee Jeong-mi of the Justice Party.
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and Gangwon Provincial Governor Choi Moon-soon will represent heads of the local governments, while heads of South Korea's two largest umbrella labor unions _ Kim Ju-young of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) and Kim Myeong-hwan of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) _ will represent the labor activists.
Former football star Cha Bum-kun, Olympic women's table tennis champion Hyun Jung-hwa, rapper Zico, pop singer Ailee and composer Kim Hyung-suk will join as well.
Cha advocates a plan for a World Cup jointly hosted between the two Koreas in 2034. Hyun was a member of the joint team at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships.
The number of delegates this year is about 70 to 80 less than those for the two inter-Korean summits in Pyongyang involving former presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun in the 2000s.
A Cheong Wa Dae official said this was because North Korea found it burdensome for the South to bring a large-scale delegation, especially considering Pyongyang just hosted its 70th founding anniversary last week.
Meanwhile, South Korea has been making last-minute preparations for the summit.
On Sunday, it sent a 100-member advance team to Pyongyang to fine-tune details on security, protocols and press coverage.
The team includes Kwun Hyuk-ki, a spokesman in charge of the Cheong Wa Dae press center and broadcasting technician.
They traveled to the North by land route, passing a customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) office in Paju, Gyeonggi Province _ one of the two inter-Korean transit offices _ at 6:50 a.m. and arriving at Pyongyang in the afternoon.
The National Assembly on Sunday was divided over the third summit.
In a welcoming statement announced by its floor spokeswoman Park Kyung-mee, the DPK said the Pyongyang meeting is "expected to open the path for peace and prosperity."
She added, "The fate of the Korean Peninsula depends on the leaders of the two Koreas. The United States, China, Japan and Russia all acknowledge the two Koreas as the key players and are paying attention with high expectation."
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party expressed concerns, claiming the summit agenda still has not been finalized.
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