One Korea National Coalition, a group of 54 civic organizations, holds a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday, urging the government to scrap its two-state approach regarding the North Korean regime. Courtesy of One Korea National Coalition
Civic organizations advocating the reunification of the Korean Peninsula urged the Lee Jae Myung administration to abandon what they called its "two-state relationship" policy, arguing that it contradicts Korea's Constitution and risks legitimizing the permanent division of the Korean Peninsula.
The criticism stems from the Lee Jae Myung administration's first white paper on unification, released last month, which describes inter-Korean relations as "a peaceful two-state relationship." The coalition argued that the wording effectively formalizes the view that the two Koreas are de facto separate states, a position it said runs counter to the Constitution's goal of national reunification.
At a press conference at the National Assembly on Thursday, 54 civic organizations under the One Korea National Coalition called on Lee to issue a public apology and demanded the resignation of Unification Minister Chung Dong-young.
Lee Hee-bum, co-chair of the coalition and standing president of the Korea NGO Association, linked the controversy to the 76th anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War, saying South Korea should continue striving toward reunification as "one people and one nation," rather than embracing a two-state framework.
