The South Korean government’s attempt to create a unification account by revising a related law to prepare for the possibility of a reunified Korea over the next 20 years has failed to win bipartisan consensus.

The National Assembly’s foreign affairs, trade and unification committee on Monday suspended discussions on the revision of the South-North Cooperation Fund law, because of unilateral opposition from the Democratic United Party.

The Unification Ministry, which deals with North Korean issues, had planned to create a unification account under the South-North Cooperation Fund to accumulate about 50 trillion won ($44.7 billion) by 2030 by storing annual carryovers of the fund and donations from citizens and corporations.

Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik named the account the “unification jar,” a symbolic term, to encourage donations.

At the committee’s bill reviewing meeting, the ruling Saenuri Party’s Rep. Yoo Ki-june and Kim Choong-hwan reportedly pushed forward with approval of the revised bill, saying almost all Koreans would agree to prepare a unification fund as costs of reunification will be astronomically high.

However, DUP lawmaker Kim Dong-chul said it was “absurd” for President Lee Myung-bak’s administration to accumulate a unification fund even as the South-North Cooperation Fund ― which the government allocates about 1 trillion won to per year ― is rarely used.

He added that North Korea might wrongly interpret the unification account as a hidden scheme to lead Pyongyang to implode and be “absorbed” into South Korea.

In response to the failed discussion at the parliamentary committee, the Unification Ministry said it will try harder to create the unification account.

“We don’t see it as a failure. The revision bill is still pending at the reviewing committee and we will push for the passage of the revision until the 18th session of the National Assembly closes,” Unification Ministry’s deputy spokesperson Park Soo-jin said.

“If it fails to pass, then we will release our official stance.”

Kim Tae-woo, president of the Korean Institute for National Unification, a think tank on North Korea, said it is unlikely that the unification account can be created before the current parliamentary session closes, and that it was “deplorable” the reunification issue is regarded as a political issue.

“It should not be treated as an issue between rival parties. It is an urgent issue for Korean citizens,” Kim told The Korea Herald.

According to his analysis, North Korea’s post-Kim Jong-il regime seems to be somewhat stable, at least during the mourning period of the late Kim, which reduces the chances of a sudden collapse of the Pyongyang regime.

But on the other hand, young successor Kim Jong-un’s lack of the three Ps ― policy capability, personality and power base ― raises uncertainties, including a possible internal power struggle and residents becoming rebellious because of food shortages outside Pyongyang, Kim said.

He warned that reunification could come at any time “like a landslide” in any shape, although the South Korean government hopes it will be a gradual process.

“The idea of making a unification jar is very desirable. It can send hope to both South and North Koreans. It also sends a clear signal to neighboring powers that South Korea has a strong will to achieve reunification with the North,” he said.

Yang Moo-jin, a North Korea expert at South Korea’s University of North Korean Studies, said the Lee administration should take more reconciliatory policies toward the North to make the unification jar plan feasible.

“The government is giving a double message ― it is saying it wants to raise a fund for unification but its stance towards the North is still hostile. It is not the right strategy,” Yang said.

“Overall, the Lee administration lacks a profound principle on inter-Korean relationship. It also lacks foreign affairs, unification and security strategies,” he said.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)