On Wednesday, the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee convened a plenary session to approve next year’s budget plans for the Ministries of Unification and Foreign Affairs. The plan includes funding for the newly proposed Korea Peace and Coexistence Center, replacing the scrapped National North Korean Human Rights Center initially proposed by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s Unification Ministry.
The committee passed the budget and operational plans for the relevant ministries without objection.
Previously, the Unification Ministry had reduced the budget for the National North Korean Human Rights Center by 2.5 billion KRW (approximately 1.7 million USD) out of the initial 10.6 billion KRW (approximately 7.2 million USD). On Tuesday, the budget subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs Committee, following recommendations from Democratic Party members, cut the remaining funds.
The current administration allocated 12.3 billion KRW (about 8.36 million USD) for establishing the Korea Peace and Coexistence Center.
Kim Young Bae, the Democratic Party chair of the budget subcommittee, reported a total reduction of 1.183 billion KRW (approximately 804,440 USD) across ten specific projects. This includes 7.224 billion KRW (approximately 4.91 million USD) for North Korean human rights policy development and implementation, 170 million KRW (approximately 115,600 USD) for operating the North Korean Human Rights Record Center, and 50 million KRW (approximately 34,000 USD) for establishing and running a unification education support system.
He also announced increases totaling 19.648 billion KRW (approximately 13.36 million USD) across 26 projects. These include 3.2 billion KRW (approximately 2.18 million USD) for supporting inter-Korean exchange and cooperation infrastructure, 2.3 billion KRW (approximately 1.56 million USD) for North Korean defector policies and support systems, and 2.097 billion KRW (approximately 1.43 million USD) for fostering domestic unification foundations.
Lee Jae Jung, a Democratic Party member on the subcommittee, urged Unification Minister Jeong Dong Young to ensure proper execution of funds, calling for a reflective review of projects that have strayed from the true meaning of North Korean human rights.
Representative Hong Gi Won suggested incorporating some aspects of North Korean human rights into the new center’s mission, noting that the Lee Jae Myung administration also prioritizes these issues.
Following the budget approval, Minister Jeong expressed hope that it would help revitalize inter-Korean relations and contribute to sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula. He pledged to actively promote related projects and efficiently manage the budget and inter-Korean cooperation funds.
The budget plan approved by the Foreign Affairs Committee will now proceed to the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts for final confirmation.