Minister Ban, "Gando Agreement is Jurisprudentially Invalid "

On October 22, Minister Ban Gi-mun of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), regarding the Gando Agreement, announced, “The Gando Agreement, from a jurisprudent perspective, is invalid.”

On the afternoon of October 22 during the National Assembly’s Unification Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee’s audit and inspection of the MFAT, this was the response Minister Ban gave to the question “Isn’t the Gando Agreement invalid in terms of international law?” raised by Rep. Lee Seong-gwon of the Grand National Party.

However, Minister Ban added, “Even if the Gando Agreement is invalid from a jurisprudent light, it is not a resolved issue, and it is the conclusion of the government that it should be approached with a view different than from that of a sovereignty dispute.”

He also said, “Considering the state of foreign affairs, it is difficult to lodge a diplomatic voice on the Gando issue,” and added, “We need to approach this problem by keeping in perspective of how to achieve the national task of unification.”

taewon_ha@donga.com