By Kim Young-jin
Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik will visit North Gyeongsang Province today pushing for proposed funding if the two Koreas unite, despite ongoing criticism from North Korea.
In Mungyeong, Yu will have a “unification jar” made by a master ceramic maker to symbolize the fund. The current administration hopes a bill for the coffers will be passed promptly in the National Assembly.
“We want to let world know that preparations are being made and show our willingness to prepare,” an official said, asking not to be named. “If we show this, the North Korean people might also have hope for the future.”
Officials also hope the traditional-style jar will be a positive image to help raise awareness on the need to prepare for the financial burden of unification among a population largely ambivalent to the issue.
Analysts widely agree on the need to begin preparing for reunification, projected to cost between $50 and $224 billion, though some differences remain over methods. The jar is intended to collect for the first year of unification.
The fund, announced by Yu last year, came after President Lee’s proposal for a “unification tax” in 2010 which met with public apprehension.
Last month, Lee pledged his entire salary for May to the jar during a finance strategy meeting.
However, the North refers to the unification tax as a “war tax” and has condemned the idea. “The core of Lee’s confrontational policy is reunification by absorption,” the North’s official Rodong Sinmun said.
“Being obsessed with reunification through absorption, he makes such a huge deal about the unification tax and this revival plan.”
The Seoul official rebutted, “The reason we’re doing this is not to threaten the North. We do not want the North to collapse. We’re doing it raise awareness on unification and how to get ready for it.”
While seeking to change Pyongyang’s behavior with a tough stance on its nuclear program, the Lee administration has made concerted efforts to call attention to unification, saying it could happen sooner than expected.
The issue remains off the radar for many South Koreans amid the growing cultural and economic divide between the two countries, analysts say. Two deadly attacks by the North in 2010 muddied prospects for reunification further.
Not only South Koreans but overseas Koreans and foreigners could contribute if the fund becomes operational.
Traditional “hang-ari” jars are often used by Koreans to stow away money for a rainy day. Mungyeong is considered the heart of the nation’s ceramics culture.