Yoon slams call to abandon Korean reunification as ‘unconstitutional’

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday criticized former Blue House Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok's argument for the South and North existing as two separate states as being "unconstitutional."

President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, holds a Cabinet meeting at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on Tuesday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday criticized as "unconstitutional" former Blue House Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok's call for the South and North to exist as two separate states.

"It's an unconstitutional idea that betrays our duty to promote peaceful unification through liberal democracy, as ordered by the Constitution of the Republic of Korea," Yoon said in a Cabinet meeting at the Yongsan presidential office.

Im, who served as chief of staff under the previous liberal Moon Jae-in administration, sparked controversy after saying in a ceremony in Gwangju last week marking the sixth anniversary of the Pyongyang Declaration of Sept. 19, 2018, that South Korea should focus on peacefully coexisting with the North as two separate states. He called for amending Article 3 of the South Korean Constitution, which stipulates that the “territory of the Republic of Korea shall consist of the Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands.”

"Recently, some in the political sphere are suddenly urging against unification," Yoon said in Tuesday's Cabinet meeting.

"Many people who devoted their lives to the unification movement and spoke of unification as if it were their life's goal suddenly changed their opinions when North Korea insisted on the 'two nations theory,' which I can't comprehend at all," Yoon said. "Who will be able to understand why they condemned those who didn't agree with their unification claims as anti-unification and anti-national forces but then changed their position 180 degrees overnight?"

Yoon claimed that these people are "calling for abandoning unification and choosing peace, eliminating the Ministry of Unification and deleting provisions on South Korea's territory and peaceful unification from the Constitution."

He asked, "Is the two nations theory really possible?"

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, at the beginning of the year, declared that the two Koreas should live as two separate and hostile states, counter to the vision of reunification of the Korean Peninsula.

"If we give up on unification, the conflict and confrontation between South and North Korea will become more severe, and the security risks on the Korean Peninsula will also increase," Yoon said.

He said the government would "build true peace based on strong power and principles, not empty words and rhetoric," and based on this foundation, will pursue a "peaceful" unification.

“This is by no means unification by force," Yoon said. "We will prepare for a unified Korea where the freedom and human rights of all individuals are respected and where dreams and hopes are given to future generations.”

In his Aug. 15 Liberation Day address, Yoon announced his administration’s “unification doctrine,” which updates the approach initially introduced by former President Kim Young-sam in 1994 and is founded on the principles of independence, peace and democracy to reach complete unification.

Yet, some analysts have raised concerns that Yoon's new doctrine may indirectly seek the collapse of the North Korean regime.

During the Cabinet meeting, Yoon also criticized liberal lawmakers for “spreading groundless rumors” after a Korean consortium was selected as the preferred bidder for a major nuclear power plant project in the Czech Republic.

He noted that “political strife must stop at the border,” adding that “in front of the national interest, there is only the Republic of Korea, and there can be no separate parties.”

Describing opposing lawmakers’ criticism that Korea is taking on the deal at a loss as “deplorable,” Yoon asked, “What company would run a business that is losing money?”

“Our government is just providing state support for companies to receive orders and participate in the project,” Yoon said.

He urged opposition lawmakers to “seriously reflect on the right path for the people and the country's future” and refrain from causing “hindrances” to companies and people.

Yoon returned from a four-day official visit to the Czech Republic to build on nuclear energy cooperation ahead of an estimated 24 trillion won ($17.3 billion) project to build two nuclear reactors in Dukovany expected to be inked next March.

In his wrapping remarks regarding the results of his visit to the Czech Republic, Yoon said, “Building a nuclear power plant is not just cooperation in nuclear power plants, but strategic cooperation, in which geopolitical and political factors also come into play,” according to by his spokesperson, Jeong Hey-jeon.

He noted that the Czech Republic “has a strong will to upgrade its economy and level of science and technology through cooperation not only in nuclear power plants but also in science and technology fields, such as AI and digital.”

Regarding medical reform, Yoon expressed gratitude that the extended Chuseok holiday earlier this month ended without an “emergency room crisis” as initially feared amid a prolonged trainee doctors’ walkout.

He expressed hope for “a mature culture of using emergency medical services to take root,” noting that the main cause of current issues “is the absolute lack of essential medical specialists in charge of follow-up care.”

“As the problem of shortage of specialists, unfair compensation for doctors in essential medical care and excessive legal risks are not resolved, essential medical care has gradually collapsed,” Yoon said. “This is why our government is pushing for medical reform.”

He then called on related ministries and local governments to mobilize all available resources and cooperate more seamlessly to respond to emergency medical services and health care.

UPDATE, Sept. 24: More Yoon quotes from the Cabinet meeting added.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]