Interview with Moon Jae-in, the first head of the State Administration Office
“The materials handed over during the summit are related to energy cooperation between the two Koreas.”
Gunyoung Yoon, head of the National Planning and Situation Office (center), is waiting for the start of the State Council meeting held in the Sejong Office of the main building of the Blue House on the morning of the 2nd. By Kim Jeong-hyo, staff reporter [email protected] 2019.7.2. The Hankyoreh Blue House Photo Reporter
Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Gun-young, who served as the first head of the Moon Jae-in government’s State Affairs Office, said on the 31st, “At the inter-Korean summit in 2018, President Moon Jae-in did not bring out the’won’ of the’nuclear power plant’ to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.” The mobile storage device (USB) containing the “Korean Peninsula New Economic Initiative” that President Moon handed to Chairman Kim at the Panmunjom summit meeting on April 27th of that year contained content related to energy cooperation between the two Koreas, but did not include support for nuclear power plant construction. Rep. Yoon said, “I think that I am writing a new North Korean style work by writing a summit agenda that does not even have the Chairman of the People’s Power Emergency Countermeasure Kim Jong-in as a novel.” “I had fun over the suspicion of the West Sea Northern Limit Line (NLL) ahead of the 2012 presidential election. He criticized that he was trying to create a new North Korean wind ahead of the April 7 by-election this year and the presidential election next year.” Next is a question and answer with Rep. Yoon.
“The USB is handed over at the first floor conversation hall, not Dobodari”
-The opposition party is asking whether President Moon offered to support the construction of nuclear power plants to Chairman Kim Jong-un during the April 2018 summit meeting. “The president also said in April 2018 that there was no related mention. Some media say that the USB was delivered in’Dobodari’, which is a nonsense novel. Could it have been possible to deliver the USB in the situation where the Doboda-ri meeting was broadcast live around the world?” -At the time, the Blue House said that the USB had contents related to the’Korean Peninsula New Economic Initiative’ and’Power Plant’. “The’New Economy Map Initiative on the Korean Peninsula’ was announced by President Moon in 2015 as the Democratic Party’s representative. It is a kind of peace economic concept. It is to make the South and the North a driving force for growth through economic cooperation. In this extension, the message was sent to Chairman Kim at the 2018 summit meeting, saying, “If we achieve denuclearization, there will be a bright future.” It is absurd to connect this to the nuclear power plant.” -What is the ‘contents of the power plant’ that spokesman Kim Eui-gyeom mentioned in the dialogue between the two leaders at the time? “There is no’won of nuclear power plant’ in the USB, which was handed over at the reception hall on the first floor of the summit. As mentioned earlier, the contents related to the Korean Peninsula New Economic Initiative are comprehensive. There is also energy cooperation, but there is absolutely no nuclear power plant.”
“Support for nuclear power plant construction has been promoted since the Kim Young-sam administration”
-In the case of energy cooperation, couldn’t it include support for the construction of a Korean nuclear power plant, which has been recognized internationally in terms of power generation cost and safety? Even at the idea level. “Energy cooperation between the two Koreas has been discussed for a long time and is one of the tasks to be solved among denuclearization projects. In the past, all previous governments have gone through that process, and the Kim Young-sam government, a conservative government, also created the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) in which Korea, the United States and Japan participated to promote (support for nuclear power plant construction). Similar promises were made in the September 19 Joint Statement. However, it is difficult to link this to the 2018 summit. Again, in the process of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, energy cooperation is a homework to be solved. However, there was no word (at the 2018 summit) that Chairman Kim Jong-in would build a nuclear power plant.” -I will ask again to clarify the facts. He didn’t say that he would build a nuclear power plant, but is the nuclear power plant being reviewed as an energy cooperation plan? “There were no atoms of the nuclear power plant (in the USB data).”-Then what did the USB contain as a concrete plan for energy cooperation? “I will not tell you. If you talk, the opposition party will somehow catch up with it.” -Under the premise that’if North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons’, can we consider supporting power plant construction or energy cooperation to overcome the power shortage as a counter-payment? “Of course you should. However, in 2018, it was not a discussion stage. Until 2017, the crisis of war between the two Koreas was intensifying enormously. In a situation where (North Korea) is developing nuclear weapons, it is not common sense to (to bring up such a story).”
“2018 was not the stage to discuss support for power plant construction”
-Even if it is a matter of whether or not to resolve the North Korean nuclear program, some point out whether it is contradictory to support the construction of nuclear power plants in North Korea while pursuing nuclear power in Korea. “nonsense. Energy cooperation is a task that is 30 years old. However, what the opposition party is raising the issue now is,’At the inter-Korean summit in 2018, he said he would build a nuclear power plant in North Korea,’ but the nuclear power plant did not appear on the table at the summit that year.” -Why did the opposition party come up with a nuclear power plant problem? “Chairman Kim Jong-in is doing the’New North Poong Duke’. I am writing a novel on the agenda of a summit meeting that has never existed. Before the 2012 presidential election, I had fun over the suspicion of the West Sea Northern Limit Line (NLL, NLL), and I think that I am trying to have fun by creating a new north wind ahead of the by-election and presidential election.” -As a result, the act of deleting data by public officials of the Ministry of Industry has raised such suspicion. What do you think is the reason for the deletion of documents related to North Korean power that seem unrelated to the Wolseong nuclear power plant unit 1 audit? “There were 680,000 government officials in our country last year. The reason for the deletion will be the result of the prosecution’s investigation. I don’t think it’s an issue for me to say. However, May 2018 is a period called the spring of the Korean Peninsula, when many ideas such as inter-Korean economic cooperation and peaceful cooperation were presented. However, not all of the idea documents on the computers of public officials are the agenda of the summit.” By Seo Young-ji, staff reporter [email protected]