KLRI : KOREA LEGISLATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE

 

Korea Legislation Research Institute (President Kye-Hong Kim) and the Peace Legislation Forum (PLF, Rep. Cheol-Young Choi) held a joint academic conference on Nov. 5 (at 10am) at the Korea Press Center (at Press Club on the 20th fl.) under the theme of “Current Issues and Prospects of the 2021 Peace Parties Act.”

 

The two hosts entered into an MoU on Oct. 26 and further cooperated to host this conference for the purpose of facilitating the exchange of information and knowledge as well as enhancing expertise through discussing legislative issues for the peace of the Korean Peninsula. Several experts from research institutes and the academia analyzed the issues regarding the unification legislation from various perspectives in view of the government's unification policy and direction and discussed practical alternatives to legislative issues that may arise fundamentally in the process of inter-Korean exchange and cooperation.

 

The conference started with the opening speech by the KLRI President Kim, followed by the welcoming speech by Mr. Cheol-Young Choi and the congratulatory message from the National Research Council(NRC) Chairperson Hae-Gu Chung. The Keynote Speaker of the conference was Hyun-Ik Hong, Chancellor of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy(KNDA) who spoke on the theme of ‘The Significance of the Declaration of the End of the War and the Future Direction.’

  

The presentation session had four sub-themes of Legislation on Foreign Trade of North Korea, Special Relations of the two Koreas and the Legal Status of North Koreans,  Inter-Korean Agreement and 5.24 Measures, and Inter-Korean Agreement on Cooperation in time of Disaster. 

 

Presenters of the sessions included Won-Kyu Jang, KLRI Senior Research Fellow, Kyu-Chang Lee, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute For National Unification, Bo-Hyun Ham at the law firm SangMyoung, and Hoon-Min Park, KLRI Senior Research Fellow. Discussants included Sang-Yoon Lee, KLRI Senior Research Fellow, Ji-Sung Ryu, KLRI Senior Research Fellow, Dae-Hwan Kim, former chairman of the Korea Public Law Association, and Eun-Min Kwon, a lawyer at Kim & Chang.

  

KLRI President Kim said in his opening speech, “The year 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Inter-Korean Basic Agreement and the 30th anniversary of the joint accession to the UN by the two Koreas. I hope that we can witness the establishment of perpetual peace on the Peninsula under the firm ground of legislation accepted and recognized by the international society.”

 

The PLF Representative Cheol-Young Choi said in his welcoming speech, “Legislation of the order of the Korean Peninsula may be the very least measure for the two Koreas to be out of the confrontation and distrust. It is timely to have this opportunity today to think about a future direction of relevant legislation and specific alternatives.”

 

NRC Chairperson Hae-Goo Chung said in his congratulatory message, “President Moon proposed the Declaration of the End of the War on the Korean Peninsula at the last UN Assembly on September. The proposal did not only aim for the enhancement of the relations between the two Koreas and the relations between North Korea and the US but also aim to go beyond the Armistice Agreement after the Korean War.” He went on saying, “The promises between South and North Korea can only be kept when the promises are legislated by the two Koreas. I hope that this conference can contribute to coming up with specific alternatives.” 

 

KNDA Chancellor Hyun-Ik Hong spoke in his keynote speech, “The peace process on the Korean Peninsula depends on the progress of resolving the North Korean nuclear issue. For this part, it is necessary to pursue a forward-looking North Korean policy that contributes to restore the lost-trust.” In particular, he stressed, “First of all, we should actively promote humanitarian support such as vaccines, food, and drinking water, which have been agreed with the US. We also should ease the sanctions on North Korea starting from humanitarian parts with snapback clause. This would eventually encourage North Korea to make a progress in the efforts of denuclearization.” 

  

Meanwhile, KLRI has contributed to the legislation and policies regarding the relations between South and North Korea and national unification by providing legislative analysis and research as well as cooperating with relevant institutes home and abroad. 

 

 

Date: Nov. 5, 2021

Venue: Press Club at Korea Press Center (20fl.)