NOTE (Aug. 13, 2020 at 5:28 p.m.): This transcript has been updated per request of the Ministry of Unification. All changes have been corroborated with additional audio recordings, and changes made for clarity only are noted in brackets. 

Lee Jong-joo, director-general of the Humanitarian Cooperation Bureau at South Korea’s Ministry of Unification, delivered remarks during a government press tour to Ganghwa Island and near the inter-Korean border.

Speaking on Aug. 11, Lee addressed controversy over human rights activist groups’ efforts to disseminate information into the DPRK through cross-border balloon launches and sending floating bottles of goods by sea. 

Below is a full transcript of Lee’s remarks on Tuesday, which were delivered in English through an interpreter and gathered by reporters from NK Pro:

Good afternoon. My name is Jong-joo Lee, Director-General of Humanitarian Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Unification. So I’ve heard you had the opportunity to meet with the inhabitants and residents of the island and had very informative sessions. And today, I’d like to give you some overview of the recent actions by the Korean government regarding the leaflets and items that were sent by the NGOs or related to the North Korean human rights and defectors.

So, as you know, there are a lot of groups who have been attempting to send leaflets and items to North Korea for a long period of time, and the Korean government is currently going through an investigation process to see whether these leaflets and items violate the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act. And following some of the investigation, we have revoked the license of the two North Korean human rights organizations. And then in light of that, we thought it is important for us to think about the conditions and the life of the local residents there. First, due to the leaflets and items that were being sent by these organizations, life, as well as the livelihoods of the local residents in the islands were constantly affected, and the damage has been accumulated among these people. So as you have heard from the residents by themselves during this morning, so we had to take initiatives to make sure that these kinds of damages do not bring suffering to the people living on the islands.

So, as you can see, the inter-Korean relations has a lot of different unique characteristics. The two Koreas are the only divided countries in the world, and they are between the demilitarized zones. And along these demilitarized zones, we have a border area between the two Koreas where we have irony between confrontation and reconciliation. And the border area that we are located at this very moment shows the irony of the two Koreas.

Ganghwa Island and Seongmo Island were famous for the last speaker of protests and propaganda operations between the two Koreas before 2018 when we had the inter-Korean joint agreement. So when the situation between the two Koreas worsens, the tension escalates, the tourists start to decrease and the local economy starts to face the damage. However, when there’s good inter-Korean relations and peaceful mood on the Korean peninsula, the hope for reconciliation and peace provides an opportunity for these islands to become a frontline of the inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation. So if we have good inter-Korean relations, maybe this place can become the next Kaesong or Paju, where we used to have the Kaesong Industrial Complex corporation and the Kumgang Mountain tourism.

So, we believe that the Korean government has two different responsibilities. The first one is to make sure that people living along this border area do not suffer from the damage and tension that is created by inter-Korean relations. As you can see, this area has a potential for development and peace and reconciliation between the Koreas. At the same time, this can become an area of confrontation, where the confrontation directly changes into damages and costs to the people in the border area. At the same time, we have the responsibility to make sure that we have peaceful inter-Korean cooperation.

These leaflets and items were started to be sent from the island since early 2000, and they have started to get more activities [inaudible] since 2010. So, from 2010, we have witnessed over a hundred activities per year in Gimpo, Ganghwa, Paju and Seongmo Island. So along this border area, people had to suffer under the fear, tension and the damages that was given to them from these leaflets and items. The two Koreas have a number of occasions to discuss these issues, and there were multiple cases where North Korea used the leaflets as an excuse to escalate tension in the Korean peninsula, and there was a time when inter-Korean dialogues discuss these leaflets and items as one of its agenda.

And also, there was some domestic discussion within South Korea, you have heard of the clash between local residents and non-government organizations that were trying to send leaflets to North Korea. And there were numerous discussions within South Korea about these leaflets and items. And a majority of the public believes that it is important for us to take initiative to prevent the leaflets from being sent. And following the discussions between the two Koreas about these leaflets and items, the two Koreas have made an agreement through the Panmunjom Declaration that we will stop these kind of leaflets from being sent from one country to another. And this was an agreement made by the leaders of the two Koreas. And then we had the discussions domestically, and then the people believe that it is important for us to stop these leaflets from being sent to North Korea.

And since June, North Korea has used these leaflets as an excuse to escalate the tension along the Korean peninsula. Therefore, the Korean government has made a decision that this is not time for us to simply wait and see the damage and sufferage of the people living along the border area, but it is time for us to take initiatives to make sure we can take some actions to prevent these damages from being given to the people along the border area.

And the second thing that we want to highlight is that no one should try to make sure that their freedom has been respected, in the cost of the freedom of the other people’s right. So I think that is one of the very important principles that we have in a democratic society. Although it is very important for us to respect the freedom of expression by sending these leaflets, at the same time guarantee and try to promote the right to know of the North Korean people who receive these leaflets, it’s also important for us to think about the people living along the border area and their right to life, peace, stability as well as the right for development along the region.

We believe that there is different people living one single community, and among these people, we have different rights that need to be respected. And, at the same time, one right should not be respected by sacrificing other people’s rights. So I think that is one of the core principles that we want to adhere to as a democratic country, which believes in a constitution that promotes the rights of the people within our society. At the same time, we have the United Nations human rights conventions and other kinds of international declarations which adhere to these principles.  I don’t think there are small or large rights, and less or more important rights. However, when there is a clash of rights within a single community, I think we can try to find a balance between these rights through the social consensus and discussions.

When it comes to the freedom of expression of these organizations, they may find that in indirect way or other ways to provide information to North Korea. However, when it comes to the rights of people living along this border area, they are increasing the direct harm and direct threat. At the same time, their right cannot be achieved in other ways. So therefore through the discussions and coordination with human rights organizations, we’re trying to find a balance among these rights. Therefore, we’re constantly trying to persuade these organizations to try to find other ways to provide this information to North Korea.

And lastly, I want to briefly talk about some of the audit as well as the license review of the non-government organizations registered within the Ministry of Unification. So recently, the Korean government has decided to have a review for the human rights and resettlement support organizations. Twenty-five organizations will be pursued for this audit, and sixty-four organizations that are related to this issue will be going through a review of their license.

I believe it is important for the Korean government to ensure the activities of these non-government organizations, to promote North Korean human rights as well as to provide resettlement support for the people coming into South Korea. And at the same time, there is an important responsibility for the South Korean government to supervise these organizations to follow the legal procedures and guidelines, and at the same time, work in a transparent way.

So the ROK government provides an opportunity for non-government organizations and non-profit organizations to register into specific ministries, to ensure them free activities and efficient activities within South Korea. So, when these organizations qualify certain conditions and criteria, they can register as non-profit and non-government organizations under the Ministry of Unification. So once these organizations are registered under the Ministry, they can get financial support, or sometimes get tax benefit when they have fundraising and other activities. And sometimes, the Korean government can represent them in [inaudible] procedures. So, therefore, in return for these kind of benefits and rights of these organizations, we require them to adhere to the public order and [inaudible].

So, in order to ensure the activities of these organizations, the Korean government has provided official and unofficial support to these organizations in multiple occasions. However, these organizations have to adhere to the public order, public good as well as the legal procedures and regulations that we have in the South Korean society.

So the audits that we are going to be having with the non-profit organizations are the organizations who have had some issues in the report that they are supposed to be providing to the Ministry annually, which is set forth by the law. So if these organizations have not submitted an annual report, or if they need additional information from this report, we have decided to have an audit on these organizations.

Regarding the license review of the 64 organizations, there are some major criteria and conditions that the organizations have to satisfy in order to register under the Ministry of Unification. For instance, they have to have at least one public event held in a single year. At the same time, they need to have a minimum number of membership for the organization. So, these organizations will be required to submit documents related to these criterias. So please understand that the audit and review of the license that the Korean government is doing is the minimum required activities to supervise these organizations, to satisfy the minimum requirement for these organizations.

And we’d like to make some clarifications to some of the concerns that we have from the outside. They are claiming that the Ministry of Unification was targeting North Korean human rights and resettlement support organizations, however, the Ministry of Unification will review licenses for all non-profit organizations and non-government organizations registered with the Ministry, so that they can work in an appropriate manner. And there was also concern whether we were using a forceful method to do the audit and review of these organizations. Before setting the schedule for this audit and license review, the Ministry of Unification had contact or visited all the organizations that were subjected to this review.

And please do understand that this audit and document review is not conducted to revoke the license or the status of these organizations. Through this audit and review, we will provide an opportunity to cooperate and coordinate with these organizations. So if there is an area where we can make improvements on, we will work with these organizations to ensure that these organizations can work under the Korean government’s regulations, rules and the laws. Recently, the organizations that were sending leaflets to North Korea have worsened the perception of the non-government organizations working on North Korean issues. So by providing this opportunity to cooperate and coordinate with the Korean government, we would like to improve the situation for these organizations so that these organizations can work under the legal boundary of the Korean society, at the same time work for the public good with the different values that we have in our country.

So I guess this issue is very complicated as we have two sides of the coin. So we have different values and different understanding, and that can be a very unique characteristic of the inter-Korea relations. So if you have any question, feel free to ask.

Q&A WITH REPORTERS

Q: You mentioned several times the threat that those on the border face due to the leaflets, and you said that North Koreans are using the leafless as an excuse to raise tensions, and it’s not time to wait and see the damage – so government action needed. If North Korea complains like this in future about radio (defector radio, human rights radio), will you take the same steps, or can you guarantee us today that you will not touch radio going into North Korea?

A: So I don’t think I will be able to provide a yes or no answer to that question. When it comes to the leaflets and items that were being sent from this island, there was a lot of damages given to the people living along this area, and there was a confrontation between the two Koreas.

And following these kind of issues, we have all sorts of discussions within South Korean society. So when various organizations are trying to send radio frequencies or waves to provide information into North Korea, we’ll try to take into consideration the many things: freedom of expression of these organizations and the promotion of North Korean human rights. At the same time, the values and understanding of the people that we have in South Korean society.

So when there is a conflict of interest within our South Korean society, one thing I can say clearly is that we’ll take into consideration all these conflicting values and make a decision if we have to.”

Q: You mentioned that you’re not targeting these organizations. And yet, these aren’t new organizations, and these licensing allegations are only coming up now. They are also coming up in relation to the leaflets. You also mentioned that you want to seek a balance with these organizations. So how do we reconcile the fact that you say you are not targeting them, when clearly this issue is coming up at this time when you are against the leafleting. And also, second question, can you talk about what kind of a balance you would seek, what if they try to send the leaflets from somewhere else, is that something that you might permit?

A: So, in regards to your first question, the audit and review of the government will not be limited to North Korean human rights and settlement support organizations. We will expand this audit and document review for other organizations who are registered under the Ministry of Unification, which works in different fields related to North Korean issues. And then I guess the question is why have we got to do it now and then why we are currently going through the review process of the North Korean human rights organizations and resettlement support organizations, and why we are having so many organizations who are listed for this audit and review. And the reason is, as I mentioned previously, we have had these leaflets and other issues for a long period of time, and we have seen tension that has been escalating within South Korea following the leaflets issue in this year as well. And then we have the demand from society that we have to take initiatives. So this is why the Korean government has decided to take stronger actions against these organizations as there was the media, the National Assembly and the border area residents’ demand to have organizations to work within the legal boundary and work in a transparent way.

So following the audit and review process of these organizations, we will expand our audit and review process to other organizations as well, to ensure that all organizations under the Ministry of Unification works under the legal boundaries of South Korea and work in a transparent way. And secondly, in regards to your question on how we can find balance if these organizations send leaflets and items in other parts than border areas in South Korea, of course there will be conflicting interests, [inaudible] but we’ll try to use the criteria we used for this particular moment, and then try to find a balance between the conflicting interests, and then make a decision.

Just for clarification, the organizations sending leaflets and balloons to North Korea has escalated tensions and were creating problems for a long period of time. And following these activities, there were concerns within the South Korean public that other organizations related to North Korea might have other problems. Therefore, we want to ensure that these organizations are working under the legal boundaries of South Korea, and work in a transparent way. That’s why we are having an audit and review process of these organizations, to ensure that these organizations work under the legal boundaries and work in a transparent way. We just want to make sure, we want to clarify that the organizations were considered for the audit and the review [not] because they have sent leaflets and balloons, but because there was a concern that these organizations might have a problem.

Q: Very quick question: Why didn’t you do this in Sept. 2018, when you signed the Pyongyang Declaration?

A: So, first of all, we don’t think it is appropriate for us to talk about North Korea’s position [inaudible] official statement. But the reason why we have done the initiative right after the Panmunjom Declaration is because we thought it was important for us to first request these organizations to refrain from sending leaflets. And then it was also for us to have a public discussion and consensus on this issue. This is why we did not take strong measures during that period of time.