The Planning and Adjustment Standing Committee (Chief: Kim Yong-ho) of the National Unification Advisory Council (NUAC) held a meeting on Oct. 15, with Hyun Kyung-dae, Executive Vice-chairperson of NUAC, Park Chan-bong, Secretary General, Kim Jeong-bong, Secretary of the Standing Committee, and Chiefs of 10 committees in attendance to decide the 「Assessment on the Inter-Korean and Unification Policy of Park Geun-hye’s Administration and Future Direction to be Promoted」 as its main subject of policy recommendation in the 4th quarter of 2015.

The results of the unification policy of “Establishing the Foundation for Peaceful Unification,” one of the four key state affairs of Park Geun-hye’s government that has been promoted for the past 3 years, were evaluated as to how it affected the improvement of conditions for achieving the unification of the Korean Peninsula. NUAC decided the priority subjects to be promoted during the remainder of term of office of President Park based on such decision and recommendation of NUAC.

The areas of NUAC evaluation are 6 major government projects on unification, diplomacy, and national security including normalization of inter-Korean relations through the “trust-building process of the Korean Peninsula” while promoting a series of policies toward North Korea in the sequence of Trust-building process of the Korean Peninsula → Theory of unification bonanza → Dresden Declaration → Preparation for national unification in full scale. The results of the public opinion poll with the citizens, experts, and NUAC members are incorporated in said evaluation.

The future direction to be promoted is discussed by each committee before the final policy to be recommended to the President is decided, This covers the normalization of relations between South and North Korea, nuclear issue of North Korea, Northeast Asia peace plan, Eurasia initiative, practice of unification movement in daily life, establishment of desirable unification culture, human rights in North Korea, future-oriented policy to support North Korean refugees, and revitalization of the unification movement of women and youth.

A total of 9 standing committees convened their sub-committees to discuss the subjects given to them between Oct. 19 and 23 based on the main subject, including selecting the person presenting the subject; each committee prepared its policy recommendation from Nov. 6 to 13. Such recommendations will be brought to the Standing Committee of NUAC, which will be convened in early Dec. 2015 for further deliberation, and they will be reported to the president.

After the meeting, a workshop with the German Unification Research Team invited was organized by the Planning and Adjustment Standing Committee of NUAC.

A total of 13 researchers from Yena-Hale University introduced ‘Knowledge transfer as intercultural translation: Indications for Preparing for the Conversion of the System of the Korean Peninsula,’ which they studied for 3 years from Jan. 2013 until Dec. 2015 with the assistance of German research foundation Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and Ministry of Unification of Korea.

Prof. Michael Hoffman and Prof. Gilbear Isen from Jena Univ. of Germany gave a presentation on how to graft the socio-political problems found during the unification of the two Germanies onto the unification of the Korean Peninsula and exchanged various opinions with the NUAC members attending the workshop.

A total of 12 researchers of the foundation attended the event: Prof. Lee Eun-jung from Berlin Univ. of Freedom, Michael Hoffman, Liner Gilberisen, Heinrich Best, Bernt Martens, Everhard Holtman, Las Vogel, Thomas Ketzmerik, Michael Birbich, Michael Fritz, and Kim Sang-guk.