Date: Monday, April 19, 2021
Time: 10:30-10:45 A.M.
1. Ministry to hold first inter-Korean exchange and cooperation
policy council of local governments
The first inter-Korean exchange and cooperation policy council of
local governments will be held on April 21 at 10 A.M. Following the
amendment to the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act, local
administrative bodies have been specified in the law as principle
agents of inter-Korean exchange, and the policy council was promoted
to a statutory body.
The Unification Minister will be attending the council meeting, the
first since it has become a legal body, to reveal policy directions in
supporting the revitalization of inter-Korean exchange and cooperation
by local governments. Then, the Vice Minister will listen to the needs
and policy proposals of local governments, and discuss effective
measures to improve the system to meet current situations.
Starting with this policy council, the Ministry of Unification will
take specific follow-up measures, such as pursuing regular
communication and consultation with local governments, and
reorganizing the system to reflect suggestions raised by local
governing bodies.
2. Ministry to sign MOU with South Jeolla Province on establishing
and operating a Unification Plus(+) Center
The Ministry of Unification will sign a memorandum of understanding
(MOU) with South Jeolla Province on establishing and operating a
Unification Plus(+) Center in the southwestern region of Korea. The
Center is a comprehensive support platform intended to expand the
participation of the general public in building peace and pursuing
unification, while also fostering local foundation for exchanges with
and studies on North Korea.
The Ministry has been operating a Unification Plus(+) Center in
Incheon since September of 2018, and plans to install two more by next
year – one in Jeolla Province and another in Gangwon Province.
The Unification Minister will attend an MOU signing ceremony with
South Jeolla Province Governor Kim Yung-Rok, and visit the grounds
where the Center will be built.
The Government will support the new Unification Plus(+) Center in
establishing itself as a one-stop service center providing support in
the field of unification for local residents, and serving as a base
for spreading consensus on peaceful unification.
3. Other schedule
Minister Lee In-young will attend the National Assembly’s
interpellation session on foreign affairs, unification, and security
sectors today at 2 P.M. Tomorrow, the Minister will attend the cabinet meeting.
On the occasion of visiting Gwangju for the MOU signing ceremony,
Minister Lee will participate in a unification walkathon and sit down
for a meeting with Archbishop Kim Hee-joong on April 24.
Vice Minister Choi Young Joon will attend the vice-minister’s
conference on April 22, and deliver opening remarks at a photo
exhibition hosted by the Chontae Order of Korean Buddhism on April 23.
4. Q&A (Partial)
Q. A media outlet reported this morning that an amendment to the
Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act (hereinafter referred to as
the “Act”) could regulate radio broadcasting to North Korea. What is
the Ministry’s position regarding this report?
A. The Government is not considering any regulations on broadcasting
to the North, and radio broadcasting does not fall under the
provisions of the revised Act.
The amendment aims to keep up with changes in the exchange and
cooperation environment, such as technological developments and
transaction methods. In other words, the act of sending and receiving
immaterial electronic goods through the internet will be subject to
approval, along with other movement of goods between the two Koreas
that had called for prior approval from the Minister.
Radio broadcasts toward the North is not subject at all to such
regulations concerning electronic immaterial things.
Q. Could you explain in detail what you mean by files that are sent
and received by means of the internet? When the amendment to the
Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act was proposed last time,
there was controversy over what the ‘dissemination of leaflets and
other goods’ clause was trying to restrict due to language ambiguity.
On that note, it may be interpreted that restrictions on exchanges
through information network systems include radio broadcasts. If such
controversy continues, will the Government draw up a guideline for
interpretation of the amendment, as it did before with the Development
of Inter-Korean Relations Act?
A. The clause that is being revised is Article 2, which defines
terms used in the Act. The Government aims to expand the definition of
“taking out or bringing in” goods as the original definition only
applies to the movement of goods between South and North Korea. As
previously mentioned, with the pass of time, transaction methods and
the overall exchange environment has changed.
In the past, the movement of goods was the main means of taking out
or bringing in goods, but new forms started appearing gradually. An
example includes sending and receiving scanned files through the
internet and/or other software. These new forms have been managed
through the existing regulations, but the Government has decided to
clarify the clauses while conducting an overall review of the law for
the first time in three or so decades.
Provisions of the Act related to taking out or bringing in goods is
an adaptation of the Foreign Trade Act. The Foreign Trade Act has
already been amended to reflect the changes in the transaction
environment, and this includes provisions for intangible goods in
electronic form.
In determining what goods fall under “intangible article in
electronic form,” we may be able to refer to the revised Foreign Trade
Act, which defines the goods as software as stipulated in the Software
Industry Promotion Act or data obtained by producing or processing in
digital mode.
Q. It is my understanding that the Unification Ministry revised the
Act to promote inter-Korean exchange and cooperation, but this issue
seems to imply that the Ministry is in fact imposing more regulations.
Could you explain the purpose of pursuing such amendments?
A. As you have mentioned, the objective of revising the Act is to
promote inter-Korean exchange and cooperation, and to build a strong
legal foundation for such activities. There have been partial
revisions led by lawmakers in the past, but a general overhaul to the
Act pursued by the Government is the first of its kind in thirty years.
Various changes to the environment and method of exchange needed to
be reflected in the Act, and the Government decided that supplementing
the areas that had been pointed out as deficiencies would be necessary
to promote inter-Korean exchange and cooperation in a stable manner.
The measures are aimed at providing legal clarity – the revisions do
not call for new regulations.
