The People Power Party criticized the Lee Jae-myung administration's view of North Korea, saying President Lee Jae-myung's United Nations General Assembly speech and recent remarks by Unification Minister Chung Dong-young support a South-North "two-state theory." In particular, regarding the Minister's comment that the two Koreas are realistically two states, it said the unification minister has effectively abandoned unification.
People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seok said at a policy meeting of floor leaders held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 26th, "Minister Chung referred to the South and North as practically two states," adding, "This directly defends and speaks for the hostile two-state theory advocated by Kim Jong Un."
He went on, "(The Minister's remarks) are an anti-constitutional, anti-unification notion that squarely violates Article 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, which aims for peaceful unification," adding, "It is an unacceptable statement to the public, no different from the unification minister giving up on unification."
Song also said, "President Lee's UN speech is a dangerous idea that imperils Korea's security," adding, "Although it presented a phased dismantlement plan under the plausible wrapping of an 'E·N·D (exchange, normalization of relations, denuclearization) initiative,' it effectively recognizes North Korea as a nuclear-armed state without any concrete alternative for denuclearization."
He added, "At a time when the foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States, and Japan reaffirmed complete, unverifiable, and irreversible denuclearization, President Lee alone is following North Korea's logic and inviting a diplomatic debacle," stressing, "By viewing diplomacy and security merely as tools to stack up the administration's achievements, remarks are continuing that even abandon the state ideology stipulated by the Constitution."
At a press roundtable the previous day, Minister Chung said, "De facto two states, already two states, two states under international law," adding, "As few as 50 to 60 percent of the public answer that North Korea is a state. The reality is that a majority of the public recognizes (North Korea) as a state." The People Power Party argues that the Minister's remarks violate Article 3 of the Constitution—"The territory of the Republic of Korea shall consist of the Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands."