Unification Minister Kwon Young-se has stressed that President Yoon Suk Yeol was not talking about unification by absorption when he recently made remarks that unification of the Korean Peninsula should be pursued with a focus on South Korea’s system.  

Appearing on a KBS radio program on Monday, Kwon said that during the ministry's New Year policy briefing with the president last Friday, Yoon cited a principle that unification of two societies with different systems should be based on the more successful system of the two.

He said there is no doubt that unification should be carried out based on South Korea’s system, as the South is more prosperous and its people enjoy more freedom. However, he was quick to dismiss recent media reports that suggested Yoon meant realizing unification by absorbing the North. 

Kwon said such unification does not consider the other society's willingness, adding that the South will pursue a free and peaceful unification based on the people’s will. 

Kwon also raised the possibility that the North’s regime could collapse from the inside, citing that the North’s economy has significant failings. He said that once the North’s economy reaches a critical point, the North’s regime could be faced with uprisings from within.