KSM signs MoUs with local government authorities now authorized to go it alone
작성자/Author
관리자
작성일/Date
2021-04-29 11:35
조회/Views
741
The Korean Sharing Movement have signed an MoU with the Suwon city local authority agreeing to jointly promote humanitarian assistance and inter-Korean exchange and cooperation projects, including assistance to North Korean children's institutions and medical facilities. Here we introduce that agreement, take a brief look at changes to regulations that allow local authorities to engage with North Korea, and reflect on what that might mean for the Korean Sharing Movement.
The Korean Sharing Movement and Suwon signed the agreement to efficiently support humanitarian cooperation to North Korea and promote inter-Korean exchange and cooperation projects in a ceremony at Suwon City Hall. The signing ceremony was attended by Suwon Mayor Tae-young Yeom, standing co-chairman of the Korean Sharing Movement Yeo-doo Yoon, and Jin-ha Yang, chairman of Suwon city council's Planning and Economy Committee. Suwon, which has a population of 1.2 million people, is the provincial capital of Gyeonngi province which shares an extensive border with North Korea.
The agreement calls for both sides to consult on and promote humanitarian projects to North Korea, including providing health and medical assistance such as quarantine supplies to children's institutions and rural hospitals. To this end, Suwon city will provide administrative and financial support, and the Korean Sharing Movement will carry out various procedures including monitoring visits to North Korea to confirm delivery of goods.
Suwon city, which has been preemptively preparing for inter-Korean exchanges and unification by forming an inter-Korean exchange and cooperation committee in 2017, signed an agreement with the Inter-Korean Economic and Cultural Cooperation Foundation in August last year to prepare cooperation projects. Yeo-doo Yoon, the standing co-representative of the Korean Sharing Movement, said of the agreement, "We will prepare in advance with Suwon so that cooperative projects can be realized quickly when inter-Korean exchange becomes possible again."
Tae-young Yeom, the mayor of Suwon, said, "It is difficult because of the inter-Korean relations deadlock and COVID-19, but we feel that moving forward with the Korean Sharing Movement we will be able to demonstrate what a valuable partnership this is."
Since it began in the late 1990s, only organizations and companies approved by the Ministry of Unification can engage in inter-Korean exchange. The Korean Sharing Movement actually played a pivotal role in the campaign to change South Korean law in 1997 so that civil society could participate in humanitarian assistance in response to the famine in North Korea. Under the Kim Dae-Jung administration, the South Korean government established the principal of humanitarian cooperation with North Korea being conducted by civil society. It remains illegal in South Korea for any individual or entity without Ministry of Unification approval to have any contact with North Korea. Local government authorities were excluded from these approvals and traditionally conducted projects related to North Korea through NGOs and this was often the Korean Sharing Movement. However, the Moon administration alleviated the regulations in the “Humanitarian Support and Cooperation Projects” related legislation. These changes were an attempt to sure up the legal basis that can ensure the stability and autonomy of inter-Korean cooperation. One major change was making it easier to become a designated conductor of inter-Korean projects. This included allowing local government authorities to contact and conduct projects directly with North Korea.
In theory one might thing this could lead to competition between NGOs and local authorities trying to work with North Korea. However, what we have seen, as demonstrated with the Suwon MoU, is a desire on the part of local authorities to increase partnership with NGOs to utilize the NGOs’ experience, expertise, and their networks. In addition to Suwon, Goyang city, Gimpo city and Yanggu County have all signed MoUs with the Korean Sharing Movement to such an end.
The environment for inter-Korean exchange continues to evolve. The Korean Sharing Movement will continue to adapt to those changes. Recently the Korean Sharing Movement has been pushing for further changes to the inter-Korean relations law to increase consistency in humanitarian projects regardless of political and military turbulence at government level. Reflecting on the alleviation of rules allowing more diverse groups to participate in inter-Korean exchange, KSM co-standing president Wankyu Choi stated “If central government pushes ahead with exchange and cooperation projects exclusively, there could be controversy over international sanctions on North Korea, and internal conflicts or ideological conflicts could arise within South Korea. Therefore, projects organized by NGOs and now local authorities can prove very meaningful. They facilitate real contact between the two Koreas and help to build mutual understanding.”
Yeo-doo Yoon, the standing co-representative of the Korean Sharing Movement with Suwon Mayor Tae-young Yeom at the MoU signing ceremony
