1.Backgroundsfordiscussingtheestablishmentofa'publiccorporationforinter-Koreancooperation'
1. Backgrounds for discussing the establishment of a 'public corporation for inter-Korean cooperation'
The year of 2005 has seen a new era of inter-Korean exchange and cooperation. By expanding the scale of exchange and cooperation and by specializing into various fields, both Koreas are making both quantitative and qualitative advancements. Under such new environments, there have been various suggestions concerning the promotion of inter-Korean exchange and cooperation.
The various suggestions include that it is inappropriate for the government to be at the forefront of large scale inter-Korean cooperative businesses and that it is imperative to establish an organization that solely addresses issues related to inter-Korean economic cooperation in the form of a semi-governmental corporation. This issue has been raised to the surface multiple times by specialists of inter-Korean affairs but has recently been given greater attention.
The necessity for a public corporation was publicized during National Assembly's audit of the administration last October. Many congressmen emphasized the necessity for a semi-governmental inter-Korean organization to address issues of inter-Korean economic cooperation. Especially with the incident of Hyundai's slush fund bursting out, the public corporation was suggested as being an effective measure to secure transparency of Inter-Korean Cooperative Fund.
Recently inter-Korean cooperative businesses have expanded into the fields of agriculture, fisheries, mining, and light industries and have become more various and specialized requiring a public corporation to be in charge of various administrative works. Moreover, should the inter-Korean cooperative businesses expand into a SOC cooperation or an industrial cooperation, it would be inefficient and physically impossible for the central government to manage both policy and administrative duties.
2. The necessity for establishing the public corporation for inter-Korean cooperation
The goals for South Korea's policy toward North Korea are to achieve co-prosperity between the two Koreas, such as balanced development of the two Koreas and formation of a unified economy through inter-Korean economic cooperation, tension reduction and establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula. The goals also include helping small and medium-sized businesses to make inroads into the market of the continent and South Korea to become a Northeast Asian distribution hub which links the ocean with the continent.
To this end, inter-Korean economic cooperation should be based on private sectors, not led by public cooperation between South and North Korean authorities. However, given the realities in inter-Korean relations, it is difficult for the private sectors to solely be in charge of inter-Korean economic cooperation. That's why a semi-governmental corporation should carry out inter-Korean economic cooperation projects.
For the time being to effectively pursue inter-Korean cooperation, appropriate roles should be assigned to the government, the private sectors and the semi-governmental corporation respectively. The government believes that the public corporation can play such an assigned role.
3. The timing for the public corporation for inter-Korean cooperation to be established
Up to now, there has been no change in the government's position that the public corporation is required. It is the government's plan to make a phased approach in a discreet manner rather than establish it immediately. The government has a tentative plan that it will run the corporation as a branch of the government's administration and later establish the corporation based on it on an expanded scale.
Recently, there have been exchanges of opinions at a rudimentary level between related ministries within the government regarding the establishment of the public corporation. Most of the ministries shared the common ground but a more discreet approach was suggested by some ministries.
The gist of the discreet approach is that the establishment of the corporation is premature given the scale of the current inter-Korean economic cooperation and there should be a preparatory period. In other words, the expansion and development of ongoing inter-Korean economic cooperation remains to be seen to decide whether the public corporation will be established. Concerning the establishment of the corporation, a variety of opinions can be presented by ministries. The Ministry of Unification will collect and complement opinions expressed by related ministries.
Lastly, the report is wrong that the establishment of the public corporation for inter-Korean cooperation will be postponed until the resolution of the North Korea nuclear issue is visible. The North Korean nuclear issue is not a matter of consideration in establishing the public corporation. In fact, the public corporation is not and cannot be associated with the North Korean nuclear issue since the North Korean nuclear issue has been discussed in the Six-Party Talks.
