KOREA'S NEW MINISTER OF UNIFICATION: LEE JAE-JEONG

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 003764

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL KS
SUBJECT: KOREA'S NEW MINISTER OF UNIFICATION: LEE JAE-JEONG


Classified By: POL M/C Joseph Y. Yun. Reasons 1.4 (b,d).


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Lee Jae-jeong, Senior Vice President of
the Advisory Council on Democratic and Peaceful Unification,
former Assemblyman (2000-2004),Anglican Pastor and former
Campaign Publicity Director for Roh Moo-hyun's 2002 campaign,
was nominated November 1 to be the next Minister of
Unification. He is known for his close relationship to Roh
and his reasonable stance on U.S.-ROK relations and will
likely focus on humanitarian aid in his approach to North
Korea. According to Uri Rep. Lee Jong-kul, a close confidant
of Lee Jae-jeong, "Lee will be significantly different than
former Minister Lee Jong-seok and there will be some shifts
in ROK's North Korea policy." The relatively moderate Lee
will likely not receive much resistance in the National
Assembly on policy issues but rather for his past convictions
for receiving illegal campaign funds and for his relationship
with President Roh. Despite the resistance he will face, he
will likely pass through his pro-forma hearings at the
National Assembly that will likely take place between
November 14 and 21. END SUMMARY

BIOGRAPHY
--------------


2. (U) Lee was born in 1944 in North Choongchung province
and received a BA in German from Korea University and a MA in
Religious studies from the University of Manitoba and a
Doctor of Divinity from the Toronto School of Theology.

Posts he has held include:

- Pastor of Anglican Church, 1981-2
- Chairman of Human Rights Committee, 1976-82, 1999-2003
- President of Sung Kong Hoe (Anglican) University
- Chairman of Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Committee
- Proportional Representative with the Millennium Democratic
Party (MDP),2000-4 (NOTE: He left the MDP with Roh and went
to the Uri Party when it formed in 2003. END NOTE)
- General Affairs Committee Chairman, Uri Party, 2004
- Senior Vice Chairman, National Unification Advisory
Council, 2005-Present

LEE'S STATEMENTS ON THE NORTH
--------------


3. (U) In public statements, Lee has said the following
regarding North Korea:

"It is not desirable to over-interpret the reasons for a
possible second nuclear test by North Korea since looking at
other countries' cases, it is not uncommon for a country that
conducted one test to follow up with another test," he said
on October 18.

"Since the North Korea nuclear issue should be resolved
between the U.S. and the DPRK, the U.S. needs a more flexible
policy to resolve the situation through dialog with the
North."

"The Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) needs to be maintained
and developed with a longer term perspective. The Mt.
Kumgang project also needs to continue, since it
significantly contributes to peace."

IMPACT
--------------


4. (C) Lee was recommended for the post by outgoing Minister
Lee Jong-seok. The two share strong support of engagement
and the Sunshine Policy. By the opposition GNP, Lee's
appointment will be characterized as cronyism, or in Korean
parlance, matching the "code" with President Roh. Our GNP
contacts have said that Lee was unqualified for the job; made
dubious moral judgments in the past; and that the GNP would
attack him vigorously during his hearings in the Assembly.

ILLEGAL FUNDRAISING FOR ROH
--------------


5. (C) The "dubious moral judgments" remark relates to Lee
Jae-jeong's arrest and indictment on charges of illegal
political fundraising during the 2002 presidential election
campaign when he was serving as a key advisor to President Roh.
He was convicted of receiving $1 million from Hanhwa
Group. He was later pardoned and had his rights reinstated.
Even Uri Party officials say there could be resistance due to
his "moral problems" in the past. However, according to Uri
Representative Yoo Jay-kun, "Lee is qualified so there should
be no problem with his appointment. In addition, the
campaign finance charges were not criminal - Lee was simply
arrested as a scapegoat."



LIKELY NOMINATION PROCESS
--------------


6. (C) Lee's hearing at the Unification, Foreign Affairs and
Trade Committee will likely occur between November 14 and 21.
While there will be fierce resistance to his nomination from
the GNP and some from the Uri Party, the committee will
likely focus its efforts on attacking FM-nominee Song
Min-soon. According to Foreign Affairs Committee member Park
Jin's chief of staff, the GNP realizes that to try to block
all four nominees would be irresponsible, particularly
considering upcoming Six Party Talks. Therefore, he
speculated that the GNP would focus on strongly condemning
the Song nomination and Lee could benefit from this.
Committee member Gong Song-jin told poloff that since the Uri
Party had the votes there was nothing the GNP could do to
block any of the nominations.

COMMENT
--------------


7. (C) Many in the GNP are violently opposed to his
nomination, and are committed to attack him vigorously in his
hearings, but Lee will benefit from the fact that, unlike
Song, he is new to the government. With his fluent English
and deep experience in dealing with foreigners, Lee could
prove to be a much more comfortable interlocutor for USG
officials than Lee Jong-seok had been.
VERSHBOW