President orders unification committee

By Kim Tae-gyu

President Park Geun-hye disclosed a plan Tuesday to create a special committee to prepare for unification, which will come under her direct control.

In a nationally-televised speech on the first anniversary of her inauguration, Park said that the committee will come up with a blueprint for a unified Korean Peninsula.

For genuine peace on the Korean Peninsula and a quantum leap for Korea, we are required to prepare for a new era of unification, Park said during the 40-minute address aimed at mapping out detailed plans for economic revitalization.

Toward that end, a dedicated committee will be crafted to find systematic and constructive ways for unification. It will prepare for unification while expanding inter-Korean dialogue and private exchanges.

Park said the committee will involve not only bureaucrats but also private experts and civic activists.

The plan comes after she stressed the significance of unification as a viable way to boost Korea Inc, which is struggling to secure new growth momentum amid the lingering global economic slowdown.

Park called unification a bonanza during her New Year press conference because it would provide great economic opportunities for Korean companies specializing in infrastructure and commodities.

At the Davos Forum in Switzerland late last month, she reiterated the remarks, saying that unification would also benefit the neighboring countries of China and Russia.

However, she did not elaborate on the organizational structure of the unification committee or the schedule for its launch. Of interest also is who will be its leader.

President Park seems to be putting the unification issue on the front burner at a time when an increasing number of people, especially youngsters, have lost interest, said Choi Jin, head of the Institute of Presidential Leadership.

She might want to go down in history as the leader who laid the groundwork to bring the two Koreas together, he said.

By contrast, Prof. Shin Yul at Myongji University said that there might be other reasons for Park to raise the initiative, which is not so popular among voters here.

In the aftermath of the purge of North Koreas former No. 2 man Jang Song-thaek in late 2013, the Park administration is seemingly trying to be readying for an abrupt collapse of the regime, he said.

The Seoul administration might have intelligence showing that the regime is more vulnerable to change or challenges than are generally thought.

Jang, North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns uncle and political regent for his rise to the power, and his aides were executed late last year on charges of plotting rebellion against the Kim dynasty.

Meanwhile, Park said that unification is important not just for economic reasons, but also humanitarian ones.

Next year will mark the 70th anniversary of the separation of the two Koreas. During the period, we have suffered as demonstrated by the recent reunions of separated families, she said.

The tragedy of separation severed peoples natural relationships with their families. After meeting them for a short time, they feel the pain again because they had to part.

The first family reunions in more than three years finished Tuesday.