[Exclusive] Democratic Party to Push for Passage of 'End-of-War Declaration Resolution' in National Assembly Immediately After Gwangbokjeol

Lee Jae-jung, Acting Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, "Meeting Scheduled for Third Week of August... Must Pass Even by Vote"
Park Wan-joo, Chair of the Policy Committee, Also Says, "Must Finalize Review and Institutionalize"
People Power Party Criticizes, "Stop the Show"... Painful Process Expected

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The Democratic Party of Korea plans to push for the passage of a resolution urging a declaration of the end of the Korean War, currently pending in the National Assembly, immediately after Liberation Day next month. The aim is to accelerate the Korean Peninsula peace process, which has reopened with the restoration of inter-Korean communication lines. However, conservative opposition parties argue that an apology from North Korea should come first and criticize the move as a 'show' ahead of the presidential election, signaling expected difficulties.

Lee Jae-jung, acting chair of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee of the National Assembly (ruling party whip), said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 30th, "Last month, we submitted the declaration of the end of the war resolution to the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee subcommittee, but due to circumstances, it was not addressed. We plan to hold the subcommittee and full committee meetings in the third week of next month and will have serious discussions then. Since it has already gone through the agenda coordination committee, it is time to finalize and make a decision."

The resolution urging the declaration of the end of the Korean War was originally proposed by Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Kyung-hyup in June last year, with 174 lawmakers from the Democratic Party, Open Democratic Party, and Justice Party co-sponsoring. It was submitted to the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee in September last year, but lawmakers from the People Power Party opposed it as inappropriate amid strained inter-Korean relations and referred it to the agenda coordination committee (up to 90 days) for reconciliation of differences with equal representation from both parties.

Lee said, "The opposition argues that there is no urgency amid strained inter-Korean relations, but the legal system must be prepared before a reconciliation mood is created. Therefore, not only the declaration of the end of the war resolution but also all necessary related legislation will be discussed together. Even if the opposition opposes, this time it must be passed through a vote."

On the previous day, Park Wan-joo, chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee, also mentioned at a policy coordination meeting that "the review of the resolution urging the declaration of the end of the Korean War should now be finalized and move to the institutionalization stage," indicating it will be a key party agenda.

On the other hand, the People Power Party welcomed the restoration of inter-Korean communication lines, stating, "Under any circumstances, behind-the-scenes dialogue must take place," but also said, "We must receive responsible answers regarding North Korea's atrocities such as the shooting of a public official in the Yeonpyeong Island waters, hacking attacks, and missile launches in March." Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min posted on Facebook, "Our people clearly understand North Korea's intentions. If the government only provides food and aid that North Korea seeks while covering up the core issues and uses flashy political shows to influence next year's presidential election, it will face the stern judgment of the people."

The resolution urges South Korea, North Korea, the United States, and China to promptly implement a declaration of the end of the war. The 1953 armistice agreement was signed by North Korea, the United States, and China. The resolution also calls for the start of peace treaty discussions, progress in North Korea-U.S. denuclearization negotiations, and South Korea's promotion of denuclearization, as well as cooperation between the two Koreas on COVID-19.

In the United States, ahead of the South Korea-U.S. summit in May, Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman introduced a Korean Peninsula peace bill urging a declaration of the end of the war and a peace treaty, and a similar resolution supporting this was introduced in the British Parliament. Following the news of the restoration of inter-Korean communication lines on the 27th, Representative Song said on Facebook, "The number of signatories supporting the U.S. House of Representatives' 'Korean Peninsula Peace Bill' has increased to 11. This bill will contribute to the official and binding peace treaty between South and North Korea."

The armistice agreement was signed "with the Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Command on one side and the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army and the Commander of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army on the other side." The annex states that "it shall remain in effect until it is clearly replaced by a suitable agreement jointly accepted by both parties for modification and supplementation or for peaceful resolution at the political level between the two parties."