This July 3, 2023, photo shows the unification ministry headquarters at the government complex in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 28 (Korea Bizwire) — The unification ministry on Friday announced a plan to slim down and overhaul its organizational structure amid the freezing of ties between the two Koreas and growing security tensions over the peninsula.
The ministry plans to relocate around 80 employees, roughly 15 percent of its workforce, and merge four divisions, including those that oversee inter-Korean exchange and a now-defunct joint industrial complex in the North, into one.
The announcement came after President Yoon Suk Yeol recently urged for a change in the ministry’s function, saying it should no longer act like a support agency for the recalcitrant regime.
It also comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula as the North has pushed ahead with provocations, including the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, despite international condemnation over its weapons programs.
“The envisioned plan factored in how South-North exchange and dialogue have been suspended and comes from the notion that a flexible, competitive and efficient organization that is fitting to international political circumstances is necessary,” Vice Unification Minister Moon Seoung-hyun said.
He stressed that the change does not indicate the government’s suspension of policy of resuming inter-Korean dialogue, saying the newly merged unit will respond to demand for inter-Korean talks as they occur.
The ministry, meanwhile, plans to establish a new unit tasked with handling issues of prisoners of war and South Koreans detained in the North.
It will also strengthen its role in areas of analyzing intelligence and raising public awareness on reunification.
The envisioned plan, which is subject to consultations with the interior ministry, is expected to be finalized in late August.
(Yonhap)
