Ex-presidential chief of staff faces backlash over remarks on Korean unification

Im Jong-seok, chief of staff to former President Moon Jae-in, speaks during a ceremony marking the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 19 Pyongyang Declaration held at Kimdaejung Convention Center in Gwangju, Thursday. Yonhap By Kwak Yeon-soo Im Jong-seok, chief of staff to former President Moon Jae-in, is facing criticism over his remarks regarding the peaceful coexistence of the two Koreas.

At a ceremony marking the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 19 Pyongyang Declaration, Im said South Korea should move beyond its fixation on seeking unification with the North and instead focus on peacefully coexisting as two separate states. “Let’s accept the reality and live as two separate and peaceful states.



Let’s remove or amend the territorial clause in Article 3 of South Korea’s Constitution,” Im said in his keynote speech at a ceremony, Thursday. Article 3 of South Korea's Constitution stipulates that the territory of the Republic of Korea consists of the Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands. The presidential office criticized Im, calling his remarks “anti-constitutional.

” “Seeking unification based on the principles of freedom and democracy is our constitutional duty,” a senior presidential official said. Kim Kwan-yong, executive vice chairperson of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, a presidential advisory body responsible for developing a vision for peaceful unification based on national consensus, condemned Im for sympathizing with North Korea’s two-state system. In December 2023, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un redefined inter-Korean relations as those between "two states hostile to each other” and labeled South Korea as the North’s “principal enemy.

” “Any attempt to abandon unification and sympathize with the North Korean regime must be condemned. Im’s claim that we should rethink the need for unification and leave the discussion to the future generation is unacceptable,” Kim said in a statement, Friday. The ruling People Power Party (PPP) also slammed Im for reversing his own unification stance after Kim Jong-un’s two states narrative.

“It’s bizarre that Im, once a strong advocate for unification, shifted his stance after North Korea’s two-state policy,” PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho said. The Ministry of Unification, however, refused to comment on Im’s remarks, adding it doesn't comment on individual viewpoints..