North Korean leader Kim Jong Un convened a meeting of commanders of all military divisions and brigades on the 17th and revealed a plan to reorganize the military structure to strengthen frontline units guarding the southern border and make the border 'an impregnable fortress,' Korean Central Television reported on the 18th. [Photo = Yonhap News]

The first unification white paper of the Lee Jae-myung administration has a high potential to conflict with the constitutional principle of aiming for unification. 

This is because the ‘2026 Unification White Paper: Records of Korean Peninsula Peace Coexistence 2025’, published by the Ministry of Unification, contains the perception of the two Koreas as 'de facto two states.' 

A unification white paper is an official document that summarizes and presents the government's unification policy to the public and the international community. For such a document to contain the perception of the two Koreas within the framework of 'two states' is not an issue that can be treated as a mere controversy over wording. 

This indicates a shift in the Lee Jae-myung administration's view on unification, moving from the constitutional 'principle of aiming for unification' to 'division management theory.' 

'Two States' Perception in Official Government Document

The Ministry of Unification stated that 'peaceful two states' is the implementation strategy for the Lee Jae-myung administration's Korean Peninsula peace coexistence policy. 

This single sentence changes the nature of the controversy. It can no longer be dismissed as the personal conviction of then-Minister of Unification Jeong Dong-young or an internal review by the ministry. 

If this is the government's implementation strategy, the Presidential Office cannot evade responsibility. President Lee Jae-myung must answer. Is this Minister Jeong Dong-young's view on unification, or is it the Lee Jae-myung administration's view on unification?

Minister of Unification Jeong Dong-young is at the center of this controversy. The 'peaceful two states theory' is not a practical expression that was suddenly inserted between the sentences of the white paper. It is the result of the unification view that Minister Jeong has publicly emphasized being reflected in an official government document. 

If so, the responsibility is also clear. This issue is a matter of the Minister of Unification's performance of his duties. 

Dangerous Realism Resembling the North Korean Nuclear Recognition Theory

The Ministry of Unification explains that it is not legal state recognition and not the abandonment of unification. However, the problem lies precisely in this method of explanation. 

The theory of recognizing North Korea as a nuclear-armed state has always started with the same words. It is not intended to advocate for recognizing North Korea as a nuclear-armed state, but rather to argue for managing the existing nuclear reality. 

However, the reason the United States and the international community do not recognize North Korea as a nuclear-armed state is not because North Korea does not possess nuclear weapons. It is because even if they acknowledge the reality of possessing nuclear weapons, they cannot grant it the status of a nuclear-armed state. 

The 'two states' perception in the unification white paper has the same structure. 

No citizen is unaware of the reality of the division between the two Koreas. It is undeniable that North Korea is a member of the UN and has a separate system, military power, and diplomatic entity. 

However, 'how the government of the Republic of Korea defines that reality' is a completely different issue. 

Just as it is impossible to recognize North Korea as a nuclear-armed state despite acknowledging the reality of its nuclear capabilities, the government of the Republic of Korea cannot officialize the framework of 'two states' in the unification white paper despite acknowledging the reality of the division between the two Koreas. 

The Constitution is clear. The territory of the Republic of Korea is the Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands. The Republic of Korea must establish and pursue a peaceful unification policy based on a liberal democratic basic order. This is the constitutional order of the Republic of Korea. 

The government can manage the reality. It can attempt inter-Korean dialogue and implement policies to reduce military tensions. 

However, for the head of the executive branch responsible for unification policy to push aside the constitutional principle of unification behind the theory of division management in an official government document is a matter of a different dimension. 

The Democratic Party of Korea's defensive logic is also problematic. 

Bu Seung-chan, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, stated that the People Power Party's criticism stems from ignorance that fails to distinguish between 'state recognition' and 'recognition of statehood.' However, this very distinction is the core of the issue. 

The theory of recognizing North Korea's nuclear weapons has also always stated 'recognition of nuclear reality,' not 'recognition as a nuclear-armed state.' 

Is it permissible to regress from the constitutional principle of unification in an official government document by merely avoiding the phrase 'legal recognition'? 

The core of inter-Korean relations is not the choice of terminology, but rather the normative goals that the government of the Republic of Korea sets in its official documents. 

Minister Jeong Dong-young's Responsibility: A Matter for Impeachment Proceedings Beyond Dismissal

The issue of Minister of Unification Jeong Dong-young is a matter that warrants consideration for impeachment proceedings beyond demands for dismissal. 

As Minister of Unification, he has a responsibility to uphold the constitutional principle of aiming for unification. However, the first unification white paper of the Lee Jae-myung administration contained the perception of the two Koreas as 'de facto two states' in an official government document. 

This is not a mere controversy over wording, but an incident where the Minister of Unification has regressed the spirit of Articles 3 and 4 of the Constitution within an administrative document. 

Since the Minister of Unification has published a unification white paper that shakes the very reason for the Ministry of Unification's existence, whether he can continue to hold his position must be examined through constitutional procedures. 

If the President does not dismiss Minister of Unification Jeong Dong-young, the National Assembly must take action. 

Article 65 of the Constitution allows the National Assembly to resolve an impeachment of a member of the State Council or the head of an administrative ministry for violating the Constitution or laws in the execution of their duties. Impeachment should not be a tool of political strife. 

However, when the Minister of Unification, who is obligated to uphold the constitutional principle of unification, includes the 'two states' perception in an official government document, the National Assembly's responsibility to investigate this is a matter of defending the Constitution. 

Both the Democratic Party and the People Power Party Must Answer to the Constitution

The Democratic Party of Korea cannot be free from this issue. 

The Democratic Party is already defending the unification white paper, stating that there is a difference between 'state recognition' and 'recognition of statehood.' 

However, what the public is asking is not a technical question of whether North Korea has been recognized as a state under international law. It is a question of whether the government of the Republic of Korea is upholding the constitutional principle of aiming for unification. 

If the Democratic Party continues to shield Minister of Unification Jeong Dong-young from impeachment proceedings, it will not be free from criticism that it is placing the constitutional principle of unification below the regime's theory of division management. 

The response of the People Power Party, the main opposition party, is also complacent. 

The People Power Party criticized the unification white paper as unconstitutional and demanded the dismissal of Minister of Unification Jeong Dong-young. However, a demand for dismissal is merely a political request urging the president to make a decision, and it is difficult to consider it a constitutional response from the main opposition party. 

If they have judged it to be a constitutional violation, they should proceed with the procedures available to the National Assembly. 

Considering impeachment proceedings against Minister of Unification Jeong Dong-young, an emergency inquiry into urgent issues by the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, a resolution demanding the abolition of the unification white paper, and if necessary, launching a parliamentary audit are what the opposition party should do. 

To say it is 'unconstitutional' yet only wait for the president's dismissal is not prudence but evasion of responsibility by the main opposition party. 

What the People Power Party should do is not to plead for dismissal, but to scrutinize the constitutionality through the National Assembly's authority. 

The opposition party should be a party that checks, not a party that merely issues statements. If a constitutional issue arises and they only issue statements and demands for dismissal, as if watching a fire from across the river, it is not prudence but dereliction of duty by the opposition party. 

It appears that as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un proposed the 'hostile two states theory,' South Korea's Ministry of Unification responded with the 'peaceful two states theory.' 

Adding the qualifier 'peaceful' does not change the essence. 

Just as adding the word 'peace' in front of a nuclear missile does not make it a peaceful nuclear missile, framing division as 'peaceful coexistence' does not eliminate the constitutional principle of unification. 

The Ministry of Unification is not a ministry that exists to abandon unification. The Minister of Unification has the responsibility to manage the reality of division, but to handle that reality within the constitutional principle of unification. 

Minister of Unification Jeong Dong-young has abandoned that responsibility. 

President Lee Jae-myung must immediately dismiss Minister Jeong. If the President does not, the National Assembly must consider impeachment proceedings. 

If the Democratic Party of Korea continues to cover for him, it will not be free from criticism that it is placing the constitutional principle of unification under the regime's theory of division management. 

The People Power Party must also abandon its ambiguous stance. If it stops at demanding dismissal while calling it a constitutional violation, it will inevitably be suspected of lacking the will to defend the Constitution in the name of the main opposition party.