[Editorial] Reunion - excluded families' frustrations

The quota for the first round of the inter-Korean separated family reunions is finally set at 100 families each from the South and the North. This causes mixed feelings of joy and sorrow among separated families. Twenty days ago, some separated families experienced heart-wrenching pain when they learned that their kin in the North had already passed away.

No less heart-rending are the cases of those families whose separated members are still alive in North Korea, and yet they can not meet them due to the quota. The frustrating notice of their exclusion from the final reunion list has banished these families` half-century of ardent hope that they would meet their separated kin this time at last. The families had to again go through the excruciating experience of separation.

Pyongyang notified Seoul that the separated kin of 126 out of the 200 people in the South`s list are still living in the North. Of the rest, according to the notification, 12 are dead and the whereabouts of 26 are unknown. Alas, Pyongyang`s initial confirmation that Koo In-Hyun, the 109-year old mother of Chang I-Yun, a resident of Pusan, was alive, turned out to be incorrect due to the North`s error in its search for the families.

The case is a clear example of how important it is for families to have accurate information on whether their separated kin are dead or alive. The securing of correct information must be an indispensable, basic step for the reunion. Since the June 15 Joint Declaration, there were 76,793 South Korean applicants for the reunion. Among them, only 100 people will meet their kin in the North.

This discouraged many people from making the applications. Most of the people who filed applications still do not know whether their separated family members are alive. The event including only 100 people`s reunions falls far short of alleviating the pains of separated families. It will therefore be unwise to make use of the occasion as a promotional event as if it does something to cure their pain.

Enormous attention was paid to the two Koreas` agreement on the family reunion as a watershed event. But, it should be noted that various civilian agencies have arranged some 30 to 40 family reunions every month in third countries like China. By comparison, therefore, the current family reunion resulting from the efforts of inter-Korean authorities is nowhere near the scope of the civilian-arranged cases. Moreover, the two Koreas were inflexible and deprived families of the reunions by insisting on the agreed quota despite the fact that their relatives were confirmed alive.

The government should make every effort to crack down on the brokers who attempt to reap profits by exploiting the pains of separation. They apparently arrange for family reunions in a third country for a huge sum of money. In addition to an initial retainment fee, the separated families have to pay exorbitant sums for the exchange of letters and reunions. The total is known to amount to some 10 million won. This surely is a clear case of corruption that the inter-Korean indifference to the reunion issue has given rise to.

The government`s all-out effort is called for here to establish a permanent family reunion center where the separated families can meet on an ongoing basis through the official channels of the two Koreas. The government is also urged to do its best for the reunion of separated kin in the South with kidnapped South Koreans and POWs in Pyongyang.