President Lee: "Let's Open the Way for Unconverted Long-term Prisoners to North Korea"... Calls Secrecy of North Korean Materials "A Real Problem"

President Lee Receives Briefing from Foreign and Unification Ministries on the 19th
"Some Suggest Unconverted Long-term Prisoners Should Go on Their Own"
Unification Minister Chung Dongyoung: "That Is the Policy of Our Government"
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President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Overseas Koreans Office) and Ministry of Unification briefing held at the Seoul Government Complex Annex on the 19th. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 19th, President Lee Jae-myung proposed regarding the repatriation of long-term unconverted prisoners to North Korea, saying, "If they want to return to their hometown, we should not stop them and instead open the way for them." In response to concerns about allowing access to North Korean materials such as the Rodong Sinmun, he questioned, "Are you worried that the public might fall for propaganda and become communists?"

President Lee made these remarks during the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Unification briefing held at the Seoul Government Complex in Jongno-gu, Seoul. He stated, "There has been no response regarding sending long-term unconverted prisoners to North Korea," and added, "Some argue that, since it would be difficult to send them through inter-Korean consultations, we should issue them passports and let them go on their own."

Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young responded, "That is the stage we are at," and added, "They would go to Shenyang, and the issue is that North Korea must accept them." In response, President Lee reiterated, "They have to accept the consequences themselves. Our role is to send them, and if they cannot enter North Korea and have to return, there is nothing we can do about it."

He further explained, "The best option would be to negotiate with North Korea and open Panmunjom, but since there is no response, it would be good to open the way even by other means." Minister Chung agreed, saying, "That is the policy of our government."

Currently, there are five to six long-term unconverted prisoners in South Korea who have expressed their intention to be repatriated to North Korea. Among them, Ahn Hak-seop recently requested to be sent to the North. The Ministry of Unification has stated, "We are not considering linking the repatriation of long-term unconverted prisoners with the return of South Korean citizens detained in North Korea."

President Lee also addressed the issue of repatriating abductees and prisoners of war, asking, "We are continuously working on their return, but is there almost no response from North Korea?" and "Since dialogue is currently suspended, is there nothing we can do?" Minister Chung replied, "At present, there is nothing we can do."

"Are you worried about people becoming communists... An insult to public awareness"

There was also discussion about allowing access to North Korean materials, including the Rodong Sinmun. President Lee said, "There is a discussion about opening North Korean materials to the public and allowing anyone to access them," and added, "In the past, simply possessing them was punishable, but if we make them public, I expect there will be fierce criticism, such as 'Are you trying to create a communist society?'"

The Director of the Peace Exchange Bureau at the Ministry of Unification explained, "For example, under current law, there is no way for ordinary citizens or researchers to access the Rodong Sinmun in real time. Nevertheless, journalists write articles and many researchers conduct studies. There is a significant gap between reality and the law, so we are working to make reasonable improvements."

President Lee continued, "(The non-disclosure of North Korean materials) is based on the fear that our citizens might fall for propaganda and become communists," and argued, "If the materials are made public, it could provide an opportunity for people to accurately understand the reality of North Korea and realize that we should not become like that."

When Minister Chung reported, "That is the position of the Ministry of Unification, but the National Intelligence Service has a different opinion," President Lee remarked, "So the National Intelligence Service will not be swayed, but you are worried that our citizens might be completely swayed and become communists? That is a real problem. It is a serious underestimation of the awareness level of our people."

Under current law, accessing, viewing, or distributing North Korean websites is completely prohibited, but indirect access through overseas platforms and bypass methods is widespread. In response, the Democratic Party of Korea is currently pushing for an amendment to the Information and Communications Network Act to allow free access to North Korean websites. The public release of North Korean materials is also included among the 123 key national tasks of the Lee Jae-myung administration.