Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the main opposition People Power Party on Wednesday slammed the government over its blanket approval of civilian requests to contact North Korean residents, following the scrapping of a previous screening guideline.
Speaking at a plenary session of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee in Seoul, Bae criticized Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, saying the ministry had approved all 124 requests filed as of March this year without rejecting a single case.
The guideline, introduced in June 2023 under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration amid heightened inter-Korean tensions, had tightened screening procedures. It was abolished in late July 2025 under the Lee Jae Myung administration.
When asked why the guideline was scrapped, Chung said it was “an evil law,” arguing that it ran counter to the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act, which was first introduced in 1990.
“The act initially required approval for contact with North Korean residents when it was enacted in 1990, but was changed to a reporting system about 20 years ago when I served as unification minister,” Chung said. “However, a guideline introduced on June 27, 2023, effectively reverted it to a permit system, which goes against the law.”
Bae also raised concerns that 24 of the 124 approved cases — about 20 percent — involved individuals or groups that had previously been denied approval, suggesting that applications once deemed problematic were cleared without sufficient scrutiny after the guideline was scrapped.
She further argued that several approved cases — including proposals involving cruise tourism, North Korea offices and trade projects — required closer legal review in relation to UN sanctions, the National Security Act and the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act.
“Can the ministry take responsibility if these approvals later lead to legal violations or undermine national security?” Bae said.
Bae also accused the ministry of refusing to submit related documents to the National Assembly, saying officials had indicated reluctance to provide copies of the applications.
“If there is no problem, the ministry should submit the materials and explain the review process,” she said, urging the ministry to hand over all relevant documents for parliamentary oversight.
A five-term lawmaker, Chung served as unification minister under the Roh Moo-hyun administration from 2004 to 2005. He was reappointed to the post in July 2025 under the Lee Jae Myung administration.
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