Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Citizens’ Solidarity for ONE KOREA to spearhead unification, oppose ‘two-state’ framework
Civil society and academic leaders pose during an inauguration ceremony for the Citizens’ Solidarity for ONE KOREA at Press Center in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Citizens’ Solidarity for ONE KOREA
By Jhoo Dong-chan
Civil societies and their leaders gathered to inaugurate the Citizens’ Solidarity for ONE KOREA, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that opposes the Lee Jae Myung administration’s so-called “two-state” framework and seeks to lead the two Koreas to peaceful unification.
A total of 350 leaders from media, academia and the Korean diaspora participated in the new civic coalition’s inauguration ceremony at the Press Center on Wednesday.
In December, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young stated his North Korean policy drive by promoting the so-called “peaceful two-state framework,” which claims the North and South now function as “two separate countries in reality.”
Chung’s theory provoked an immediate backlash from academic and diplomatic circles, including former lawmaker Tae Young-ho of the main opposition People Power Party, who denounced the government’s recent move toward the two-state framework as unconstitutional during his welcome remarks for the ceremony.
“Article 3 of the Constitution defines its territories as ‘the Korean peninsula and its adjacent islands.’ For the reason, the two-state framework is unconstitutional,” he said.
Former Unification Vice Minister Kim Chun-sig went further, calling it a plot to overthrow the state.
“I couldn’t believe the minister’s remarks. This is equivalent to treason,” he said. To oppose the government’s two-state framework, he resigned from his head post at the Korea Institute for National Unification in November.
“There are people who disagree with the two Koreas’ unification due to its high cost. However, we should understand that Korea is paying an even higher cost for the division,” Kim added.
Human rights activist and missionary Kenneth Bae said during his congratulatory speech that the government’s two-state framework will end up ignoring the North Korean regime’s human right abuses.
“There are 25 million North Korean people whose human rights are systematically violated. I learned their horrendous reality while I was captured there,” Bae said. “It is not the regime but the people we need to save.”
Bae, a Korean-born American, was captured and convicted by North Korea on charges of planning to overthrow the government in 2012. He was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment in April 2013.
Bae was released in November 2014, along with fellow American Matthew Todd Miller. Later, he founded the Nehemiah Global Initiative, an NGO aiming to rescue and recover North Korean refugees while rebuilding their lives in China and the South.
Citizens’ Solidarity for ONE KOREA organizers also announced the start of a global fundraising campaign to support Korea Link, a citizen-driven media initiative intended to share information and perspectives with people in North Korea and beyond.
With the vision of “One People, One Future, One Korea,” the coalition’s formation marks a broad effort by nongovernmental actors — from human rights advocates to youth activists and religious leaders — to define unification as a central civic mission rather than a purely political objective.