‘The Great Debate on the End-of-War Declaration on the Korean Peninsula, the Path to Peace’

On December 14th (Tuesday) at 2 pm, the PUAC (Executive Vice-Chair Lee Seok Hyun, Secretary-General Kim Chang Soo) held the ‘Great Debate on the End-of-War Declaration on the Korean Peninsula, the Path to Peace’ in the grand conference room of the Members’ Office Building.

The grand debate was co-hosted with the National Assembly Forum on Peace and Diplomacy and the Peace Campaign to End the Korean War with the purposes of listening to diverse opinions of the relevant countries and major countries to promote the 'declaration of the end of the Korean War' and discussing ways to cooperate with the National Assembly, civil society, and the international community to achieve peace and the declaration of an end to the Korean War.

In his welcoming speech, Executive Vice-Chair Lee Seok Hyun said, "It is the achievement of our compatriots in public diplomacy that drew the US House of Representatives' interest in peace on the Korean Peninsula," adding, “One of the PUAC’s four major goals is ‘peaceful public diplomacy’ which I call ‘total diplomacy’ in the sense that while diplomacy at the national level is important, public diplomacy should be promoted together by all the parties concerned.” He went on to stress, "Since the United States and Korea differ in opinions about the end-of-war declaration, progress can be made only when consultations are made between the two countries in practical terms," saying, "Since the majority (67%) of the population are in favor of the end-of-war declaration in Korea, the government should push forward the declaration with confidence."

The opening ceremony featured congratulatory remarks by the National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong Seog, the Minister of Unification Lee In Young and Colombian Ambassador Juan Carlos Caiza followed by welcome speeches by the PUAC Executive Vice-Chair Lee Seok Hyun, Lee Hyun Sook, co-representative of Korea Peace Appeal Campaign, and Kim Kyung Hyup, the representative member of the National Assembly Forum for Peace and Diplomacy. After a speech by a member of the forum, there was a photo session with participants reaffirming their resolution to promote the end-of-war declaration and cooperate with the Peace Campaign to End the Korean War.

The grand debate was held as a roundtable under the theme of the 'Ways to Realize the End-of-War on the Korean Peninsula.’ Kim Young Ho, a member of the National Assembly Forum for Peace and Diplomacy, served as the moderator. Koh Yu Hwan, president of the Korea Institute for National Unification, gave a keynote speech. The panel discussion was participated by Lee Yong Seon, member of the National Assembly Forum for Peace and Diplomacy, Prof. Kim Jun Hyung Kim of Handong Global University, Cho Young Mi, a standing executive committee member of the Korea Peace Appeal Campaign, Kim Jun Pyo, a policy cooperation officer for the Ministry of Unification, and Lim Gap Su, head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Regime Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In-depth discussion was made at the forum about how to spread consensus at home and abroad and how to seek cooperation with the international community in order to promote the ‘End-of-War Declaration on the Korean Peninsula.’