Chairman Lee Jeong-ik of the Central Association for National Unification of Korea, known well as “Mintong.”

Chairman Lee Jeong-ik of the Central Association for National Unification of Korea meets with representatives from North Korea.

Chairman Lee Jeong-ik of the Central Association for National Unification of Korea, well known as Mintong, has been devoting himself to realizing the long-cherished goal of reunification and integration of society for some 18 years. 

Chairman Lee is now in the final year of his three-year term of Mintong. “I wish our long-cherished dream of unification will come true as soon as possible,” he said. 

Mintong Chairman Lee has high expectations for the President Park Geun-hye government’s vision on unification. 

“President Park has demonstrated stronger determination on unification than any other previous president,” he said. 

The so-called “Unification Bonanza” theory may be based on President Park’s conviction that South Korea needs to induce North Korea’s opening in accordance with principles and denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, he said. 

President Park offered an olive branch for the cause of inter-Korean reconciliation by proposing the so-called Dresden Initiative in May 2014, calling for infrastructure development and natural resources exploration, as well as broader inter-Korean exchanges in history, culture and sports. President Park delivered the speech in Dresden, Germany, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in which she said unification would bring an economic bonanza. President Park’s comment on an economic bonanza has become the much-debated subject on economic benefits of reunification vs. the huge price tag required to enhance North Korea’s economy to South Korea’s level. 

Unification Minister Ryoo Kilh-jae and Mintong Chairman Lee participate at a convention with the Sejong Special Self-governing City Consultative Committee and Gyeonggi-do Consultative Committee.

Lee echoes President Park’s stance on an economic bonanza when it comes to unification. He made it clear that the realization of a “united Korea” would bring huge economic benefits to South Korea. 

Lee expresses hope that North Korea will follow the footsteps of China, a market-opening economy, which is now joining the G2 countries. “North Korea’s blackmail and threat rhetoric is no longer effective. Nuclear weapons will be useless, and in the worse case, their use of nuclear weapons could also lead to self-destruction,” he said. 

South Korea’s May 24 sanctions against North Korea, which ban inter-Korea trade and exchanges, have been in force since 2010. Under the measures, all inter-Korean trade and exchanges are banned. The Korean government demands North Korea’s explicit apology over the sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan on March 26, 2010 and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island.  

Nearly all inter-Korean human contact has been suspended since the sanctions against North Korea were implemented. 

Lee touches on the need for the resumption of inter-Korean contact, primarily among civic organizations. Mintong was actively involved in many projects to provide support to North Korea, in such cities as Pyongyang and Gaeseong prior to the May 24 measures. He regrets the current stalemate situation in inter-Korean relations. 

Lee, concurrently chairman of Seokwang Development, stresses the significance of people-to-people diplomacy. Lee himself learned a lesson to that effect while making business deals with a country with which Korea had no diplomatic ties. Seokwang Development is a Seoul-based medium-sized general construction company specializing in airport infrastructure. 

Lee recalled, “When I visited Laos in 1992, the Lao government showed a friendly attitude toward Korean companies implementing electricity infrastructure projects even though Laos had no diplomatic ties with South Korea.” Unlike North Korea, Laos turned to the opening of its markets to earn national wealth. At that time, the Lao president promised part of the rights to explore and develop some gold and silver mines in return for the implementation of the electricity infrastructure projects at a meeting arranged by the predecessor of the National Intelligence Service (NIS). 

Initially, Chairman Lee’s investment projects in Laos, a Communist state, were not easy to get off the ground. In accordance with the Foreign Ministry’s guidelines, Korean companies wanting to invest in infrastructure in Laos were required to take the form of establishing joint ventures with companies from Thailand or Hong Kong. Despite the initial difficulties, Chairman Lee said, he had meetings with the then Lao president and ministers and persuaded them that Laos’s diplomatic relations with South Korea could change the global community’s attitude toward the Communist state and lead to a succession of massive economic investments. Eventually, Laos reestablished diplomatic relations with the South Korean government. 

“I understand that we have to take this approach toward South Korea’s unification with North Korea. (South Korean) Companies and civic organizations need to go there first, expand mainstay industries and explain to North Korean authorities about the necessity of unification and the benefits unification will bring while maintaining contacts with them.” But he said the approach could invite a high risk of causing greater sacrifices than thought. Lee said Mintong leaders and some 50,000 members of the city and provincial branches, most of who are committed to unification for the whole of their life, are ready to ensure any sacrifices. “If our sacrifices could bring South and North Korea closer, it cannot be better,” he opined.   

Mintong Chairman Lee shakes the flag of Mintong as he took office at a board of directors’ meeting in 2013.

Mintong Chairman Lee Jeong-ik poses for the camera, carrying a copy of NewsWorld prior to his interview with NewsWorld’s editorial staff.

Call for Public Attention and Support to Civic Unification Bodies

Chairman Lee called for more public attention and support for Mintong and other civic organizations’ commitment to promoting awareness toward unification.

“While I have been with Mintong for some 18 years, I regret public indifference toward unification. Now is the time when the Republic of Korea has to make preparations for an era of two Koreas being unified under a regime of liberal democracy,” he said. “Chances are high that two Koreas are to be unified, and South Korea now has to make preparations for a blessing in disguise with people’s attention to Mintong and participation in its unification movement,” he added. 

Lee said he extends warm-hearted thanks to his peers and juniors who have been living in their native towns for some 60 years, all the while devoting themselves to participating in the national move to promote integration of society and unification. The Unification Ministry’s financial support is meager, so Mintong leaders and members chip in their own money to finance most of the costs of all the events and projects Mintong implements. Despite such difficulties as a lack of funding and insufficient public support, Chairman Lee takes pride in Mintong members’ dedication and sacrifices toward unification. 

Mintong is considering holding an annual nationwide convention at the Jangchung Gymnasium, Seoul, and inviting President Park.  

Chairman Lee said Mintong has designated top three tasks redoubling membership, expanding education on unification to primary and secondary school students and other youth, and securing an expansionary budget as part of its mid- and long-term strategies to promote development and ensure a leap forward. 

Seventy years have passed since the division of the two Koreas. Lee said, “South Korea has spent numerous hours in yearning for the realization of our long-cherished dream of unification, but North Korea’s insincerity in inter-Korean talks and their move to develop nuclear weapons have failed to put South Korea’s efforts to pursue inter-Korean conciliation and cooperation on a right track.” 

Currently, many South Korean people cast doubts toward unification and tend to show indifference toward it. 

In particular, the reality is that youth are not interested in unification, and they want to maintain the status quo. Mintong’s program to educate youth, particularly primary and secondary school students, has had a good reception, so Mintong plans to expand the frequency of the educational program.

Lee said, “Further prolonging of division is not only misfortunes for Korean brethrens, but also it stands as a stumbling block for South Korea’s move to join the ranks of advanced countries.” He noted that unification is not an option, but is essential. He believes that unification will bring a huge sense of pride and numerous opportunities and benefits to our brethren. 

In order to realize Korea’s cherished dream of unification, Lee said, Mintong has made the necessity of unification known to the people, particularly youth. 

Lee said Mintong plans to push for projects to provide support to North Korean residents if the inter-Korean reconciliation spirit improves in 2016. If things do get better, he said Mintong will consider dispatching of cattle to North Koreans, as the late Huyndai founder Chung Ju-yung did, on top of the provision of medical items and nutrients. In that case, Mintong badly wants to make trips to North Korean cities, including Pyongyang and Gaeseong to gain insight into the North Korean reality, he said. 

Lee contributed his own money to produce and distribute a mobile app to spread public awareness and support for the integration of society and unification. 

Mintong dates back to the establishment of a small civic organization on Dec. 15, 1977, in which graduates of the Institute of Unification Education launched a unification movement on a voluntary basis. The body was transformed into a nationwide body with a central consultation function on May 14, 1981, as it is now. Currently, Mintong boasts 17 city and provincial consultative councils. Some 50,000 members are active involved in some 200 city, country and ward councils. 

Mintong Chairman Lee poses together with the participants of the 2013 Mintong Annual Meeting in Busan on Oct. 24, 2013. (Photos:NewsWorld, Mintong Chairman Lee Jeong-ik's Office)

The Advisory Council on Democratic and Peaceful Unification (ACDPU), chaired by President Park Geun-hye, is a government body designed to support the government’s policies on unification and spread it to the general public. 

Mintong is the largest civic unification body, with a membership of some 50,000, which is bigger than ACDPU, which has some 20,000 members. Chun Kwan-woo, an advisor of the unification ministry, served as the first chairman of Mintong. Former prominent figures include Cho Il-moon, an ex-foreign ministry policy councilor, Hyun Soon-jong and former ACDPU Vice Chairman Hong Sung-chul took helm at the body. 

The biggest civic unification organization in Korea, Mintong was established in May, 1981 and has contributed to unification movement for realizing peaceful unification of all people.

“Mintong, with some 50,000 members in 17 cities and provinces across the nation, has been spearheading projects related to unification on the behalf of the government, gaining public trust as a civic organization committed to unification from all walks of life,” Lee said. 

The projects Mintong implements include programs to nurture leaders advocating for reunification and promoting harmony among people; programs designed to make preparations for reunification; programs designed to promote public awareness of reunification and national security; and publications and public relations related to reunification. 

Mintong strives to brace for reunification of the two Koreas and pursue social changes in preparation for the upcoming era of reunification. It is devoted to constructing “Unification Hall,” which will serve as the cradle for reunification.

This photo shows projects related to airfield lighting systems Seokwang Development has implemented or is implementing. Seokwang Development specializes in airfield lighting systems.