Ministry of Unification

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Ministry of Unification" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Ministry of Unification

통일부 統一部 Tongilbu
MOU headquarters in Seoul
Agency overview
Formed	March 1, 1969 (1969-03-01)
Preceding	National Unification Board (1969-1998)
Jurisdiction	Government of South Korea
Headquarters	Jongno-gu, Seoul 37°34′29.586″N 126°58′32.632″E / 37.57488500°N 126.97573111°E / 37.57488500; 126.97573111
Minister responsible	Kim Yung-ho, Minister
Deputy Minister responsible	Kim So-kyeong, Vice Minister
Website	www.unikorea.go.kr/eng_unikorea (in English) www.unikorea.go.kr/main.do (in Korean)
Map
Ministry of Unification (Seoul)

The Ministry of Unification (Korean: 통일부; Hanja: 統一部) is an executive department of the South Korean government aimed at promoting Korean reunification. It was first established in 1969^[1] as the National Unification Board, under the rule of Park Chung Hee. It gained its current status in 1998 and has played a major role in promoting inter-Korean dialogues, exchanges and cooperation.

Under previous minister Yu Woo-ik, the ministry consisted of one office for planning and coordination; three bureaus for unification policy, inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation, and humanitarian cooperation; one special bureau for the Gaeseong Industrial Complex project; and five affiliated agencies on unification education, inter-Korean dialogue, transit between the South and the North, settlement support for dislocated North Koreans and inter-Korean consultations on exchanges and cooperation. However, in 2008, the ministry was significantly downsized as part of an efficiency restructuring of government.^[2]

Its headquarters are on the third and fourth floors of the Seoul Government Complex in Jongno District, Seoul.^[3]