South Korean unification committee under fire for 'absorption' remark

SEOUL, March 12 (UPI) -- A committee on inter-Korea unification headed by South Korean President Park Geun-hye came under fire yesterday after the committee's vice chief said the government is preparing for unification by absorption.

Chung Chong-wook had said on Tuesday the committee was weighing different scenarios, including a case where unification occurs without Pyongyang's consent and the two political systems subsequently would merge, and presumably under the South Korean government, The Korea Herald reported.

The committee was formed in 2014 with 50 members that included heads of Seoul's unification and foreign ministries, but concern had been growing over the effectiveness of the committee's plans.

Chung's remarks also ran counter to Park's message of trust and cooperation in South Korea's dealings with the North. The president's office quickly retracted the statement.

On Thursday, South Korean civic groups gathered in Seoul to protest any approach that denied inter-Korea cooperation, Yonhap reported.

Lawyers for a Democratic Society, a leading South Korean group of activist lawyers, denounced the remark, saying any action to unify the Koreas by absorption will lead to a failure in the effort to rebuild North-South relations.

"It's clear that if the committee's vice chief said unification by absorption is a scenario they are considering, it also means they have already been planning toward such an outcome," a representative of the group said Thursday.

Representatives of an advocacy group said it intends to withdraw from the panel, telling The Korea Herald the committee had also "degenerated" into a forum for planning events related to the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese rule in 2015.