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| National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang speaks during an interview with The Korea Times in his office at the National Assembly, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
By Park Ji-won
National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang hopes North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will make a speech at the National Assembly in response to President Moon Jae-in's Pyongyang speech in front of North Korean people.
Speaker Moon said in an interview with The Korea Times, Tuesday, that Kim's speech in Seoul could have a symbolic meaning for inter-Korean relations.
"As President Moon Jae-in also gave his speech in front of 150,000 Pyongyang citizens, I think Kim wouldn't have a problem making his remarks at the Assembly," Moon said.
But regarding Kim's visit, which the North's leader promised to will happen within this year at the Pyongyang inter-Korean summit, the speaker said, "As there are uncertainties on the next North-U.S. summit, there is a possibility his trip can be held early next year."
He urged parliamentary leaders including himself to take more responsibility in tackling this historic issue and realize what really matters to seek peace for the country. He said the South should keep close ties with its allies especially with the U.S. and Japan.
As part of parliamentary efforts, the speaker emphasized the necessity of holding an inter-Korean parliamentary summit somewhere in Korea, either Seoul or Pyongyang, within this year and bringing progress in denuclearization.
Also, he stressed the need for ratifying the Panmunjeom Declaration and getting consensus in the Assembly to provide possible leverage for the discussions between North Korea and the U.S.
The parliamentary summit has never materialized, even though it has been discussed since the 1980s.
The following is a summary of the interview with the Assembly speaker.
Q: Please share your expectation for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un making a speech at Seoul's National Assembly.
A: It is simple. As President Moon Jae-in also gave his speech in front of 150,000 Pyongyang citizens, I think Kim wouldn't have a problem making his remarks at the Assembly. In return, as a courtesy, we should let us the North to do the speech at the most symbolic place, the Assembly, as it is the place that represents the people in the South. And it might be difficult to hold the venue if North Korea thinks the South shows an inappropriate reaction after the (upcoming) North-U.S. summit. But the North understands the South's position well enough, and Kim might come to Seoul.
Q: How big do you expect the parliamentary summit between Koreas in Seoul will be and when?
A: The original plan is to hold the summit in Pyongyang, but if Seoul is preferred, I have no problems to do so. As there are uncertainties on the North-U.S. summit, there is a possibility the summit can be held early next year.
But the chances for the summit have risen. When the third inter-Korean summit was held in Pyongyang, I sent a letter through the delegation to Supreme People's Assembly Speaker Choe Thae-bok to propose holding an inter-Korean parliamentary summit and received a positive answer. The details will be finalized through the working-level talks between the two Koreas. Also, at this inter-parliamentary union assembly, I met with Ri Jong-hyok, director of the North's National Reunification Institute, and exchanged opinions about holding the parliamentary summit while reaffirming (the two Koreas') willingness for peace. As South Korean President Moon Jae-in also told people right after his trip to the North that (the two Koreas) agreed to hold the inter-Korean parliamentary summit as soon as possible, I will grasp the situation and make it happen.
Q: What if the opposition parties decline to go to North Korea for the Assembly summit?
A: When we asked the opposition parties to come to Pyongyang for the third summit, they promised (to participate in the future summit), and we believe they will join us for the parliamentary summit. I don't think there should be political partisanism in front of this historical calling for the establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Q: What is the biggest challenge in pushing for the event? What do you want to achieve through it?
A: Personally, I want to see some achievements by holding the Assembly summit this year. But, it is important to make the summit contribute to peace on the Korean Peninsula, development of inter-Korean relations and denuclearization, rather than simply holding it. In order to do so, I made a special post for unification at the Assembly to take a close look at the situation. You could say previous efforts to push for the parliamentary summit were to hold the meeting between the two Koreas, which had strained relations, and now it is more focused on fostering inter-Korean relations as the relationship between the leaders of the two Koreas is likely normalized.
Q: To establish a peace regime on the peninsula, especially in terms of inter-Korean relations, what should the National Assembly do?
A: Along with the historic wave, the Assembly should swiftly pass the ratification bill of the Panmunjeom Declaration and successfully hold the inter-Korean Assembly summit to support the achievements of the inter-Korean summit. Also, continuing support for parliamentary diplomacy will be another Assembly role to seek international cooperation for peace.
Suddenly, there are no people who are resistant to peace on the peninsula. We need to make the most of this lifetime chance to take a leap for peace. The Assembly's role, especially party leaders, is extremely important. We need to avoid becoming a big frog in a small pond. No matter what happens, the wave of peace flows into the East
It is the time for us to take a leap into the world and future. But (many politicians regardless of ruling and opposition parties especially those who make blunt remarks) don't know what the priority is and only focus on their party's interest. Including myself, leaders of this generation should take responsibility and resolve this situation.
Q: But it seems the process of ratification is difficult due to lack of cooperation by opposition parties. Do you have any idea how to resolve the situation?
A: I have already told (the Assembly) to think positively about the Panmunjeom Declaration. At least, the Assembly should submit the bill to the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee and start the discussion.
Q: What are the chances of holding the summit soon?
A: It is important to persuade the Assembly by meeting in person. To deepen the understanding of each other, the (two Koreas) need to meet here or there at the Assembly. If the South Korean (Assembly) agrees with the summit, it is a way for North Korea to persuade the U.S. There is no way but to persuade the opposition party.
Q: What do you think about the U.S.' current (controlling) attitude on us?
A: Fundamentally, the South-U.S. alliance is most important in inter-Korean exchanges. South Korea and the U.S. should go together. Also, Japan should work together. When Kim Dae-jung was in power, there was a two-track strategy. The two Koreas took part in inter-Korean (cultural) exchanges while the international society took part in the nuclear and missile issues. So the six-party talks were born with the U.S. leading. But suddenly, South Korea faced regime changes for the last 10 years and the situation reversed. The U.S. has its role while the South has our own. Under the two-track strategy, the U.S. and the South have their own roles. The problem is (when the North) is not coming to the table. Former President Obama took the strategy of patience meaning leaving the situation. It didn't solve any problems.
Q: The Assembly is expanding its diplomacy with foreign countries. What can you tell us about its diplomatic achievements so far and its goals?
A: As Assembly speaker, I realized our country's status and power have grown compared to the past through diplomacy. Through the process, I felt proud of the country and got to have responsibility for shaping its history. Not only the MIKTA meeting for Assembly speakers, or an informal cooperative body created by Mexico, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Turkey and Australia, or Assembly meetings held in Turkey and Geneva, (Assembly leaders) paid attention to peace on the peninsula. I asked them for close cooperation and they showed interest and support for the establishment of permanent peace here.
I officially visited Romania for the first time in nine years as the Assembly leader and met with their president, prime minister and Assembly leaders who promised to expand relations with South Korea as a sole strategic partner in Asia.
The peninsula's peace is the core interest for South Korea which is deeply related to international (parliamentary) diplomacy. As international relations face fast-expanding diversification and multi-stratification, the role of parliamentary diplomacy will be increased to fill the gap of traditional government-centered diplomacy.
Q: The main agenda for the Assembly is to change the country's election system. The parties find it difficult to narrow the differences as they have different positions on the reform. How can you accommodate the different views and lead to the desirable reform?
A: In democracy, elections should develop in a way that reflects the people's minds. But the current election system continues to extort votes from people. It is the Assembly's job to correct it. If the ruling and opposition parties agree to reform the election system, this 20th Assembly will remain as the one that reformed politics the most extensively in our history. The principle of electoral reform is that political parties should win seats according to the votes they earned. I think there is a reasonable solution that people can agree with and will do my best to come up with an agreement (among parties).
Q: Many Assembly speakers aimed to seek joint governance, or bipartisan politics, at the Assembly throughout history but had difficulty doing so possibly because of the systematic limitation of the structure of ruling and opposition parties. Do you think joint governance, one of your goals as the speaker, is currently well established?
A: It is hard to say the level of joint governance is reached to the extent that people desire. But as speaker, I will continue to mediate opinions between parties and make places where they can seek joint governance and communicate with each other. In order to do so, I made a regular discussion table with floor leaders from negotiating blocs to discuss current agendas and with leaders of the five parties every Monday of the first week of every month to discuss long-term reform plans. What I call "joint governance" is to narrow down thoughts by frequently meeting and communicating with each other.
Q: What is your ideal Assembly that people would remember by the end of your term?
A: I will do my best as the Assembly speaker to incorporate the candlelit revolution into the system and a four-season legislative body where parliamentarianism flourishes. I will do my utmost to raise even a one percent possibility of people's trust (toward the Assembly.)
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