Jeong calls North Korea 'Joseon,' Kwon says 'People's Republic' — debate over what to call the North intensifies

A remark by Patriots and Veterans Minister Kwon O-eul referring to North Korea as the "People's Republic" has widened a debate over how South Korean cabinet members should refer to the North. Coming on the heels of Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young's proposal to use North Korea's official name, the controversy has drawn sharp divisions in academic and political circles — between those who see it as a pragmatic exit strategy for improving inter-Korean relations and those who warn it undermines the constitution and stokes needless domestic discord.

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans issued a press clarification on Wednesday, saying it was "not true" that Kwon personally makes a habit of calling North Korea the "People's Republic."

Earlier, at a policy briefing for reporters in May, Kwon had invoked independence activist Ahn Jung-geun's vision of East Asian peace, saying, "The Republic of Korea, the People's Republic, China and Japan are all included in that."

In a written response to People Power Party lawmaker Shin Dong-wook of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee, the ministry said "not applicable" when asked whether it planned to correct, clarify, apologize for, or express regret over the remark. Asked separately whether the term "People's Republic" conforms to the government's official standard for referring to North Korea, the ministry said North Korea uses "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" when joining the UN or signing agreements with South Korea.

In a supplementary statement, the ministry added that China is currently requesting North Korea's prior consent in connection with efforts to recover the remains of Ahn Jung-geun, and that the minister had used the term once "to emphasize cooperation among South Korea, North Korea, China and Japan" toward that goal.

The question of how cabinet ministers should refer to North Korea has become a focal point in politics and academia, intertwined with Unification Minister Jeong's own proposal. At a second-half work briefing on Aug. 5, Jeong suggested calling North Korea either "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" or "Joseon," but President Lee Jae Myung urged caution, saying the government "must be very careful and think hard, as a single expression can drag us into political strife."

Voices from academia and former officials have called for a broader public debate. Former Unification Minister Lim Dong-won, speaking at a senior advisory council gathering on Thursday, Aug. 7, cited the two Koreas' simultaneous admission to the UN in 1991 and said, "Using the word 'Joseon' is not a new concept," adding that "there is a need to change how the public thinks." Seo Bo-hyeok, president of the Korean Association of North Korean Studies, said at a special seminar on Tuesday that the question of using North Korea's official name arises "at a critical juncture for opening a new exit in inter-Korean relations" following Kim Jong-un's declaration of a hostile two-state relationship.

Critics argue that without any change in North Korea's posture, the debate risks eroding constitutional values and deepening domestic divisions. Park Won-gon, a professor in the North Korean studies department at Ewha Womans University, said in a phone interview that it was "a highly unproductive discussion that does not need to be opened to public debate," adding that "there is no possibility that North Korea will recognize our existence or improve relations just because we call it the Democratic People's Republic of Korea." He said that "raising for public debate a discussion that violates Article 3 of the Constitution and provokes inter-Korean discord is itself a very unnecessary act."