The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) and National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences (NRC) held the 2020 DMZ International Forum on the Peace Economy under the theme of "Overcoming the Barriers: Towards Peace and Prosperity", at the Songdo Convensia in Incheon from December 3 to 4, 2020.

 

Organized by the Incheon Institute, the National Unification Advisory Council, and sponsored by the Ministry of Unification and the Incheon Metropolitan City, about 50 experts in the fields of global peace, security, and economics participated online and offline to discuss efforts to resolve the state of division on the Korean Peninsula, establish permanent peace and an economic virtuous cycle based on peace.

 

On the first day of the forum (Dec 3), participants from home and abroad were originally scheduled to experience the reality of the division of the Korean Peninsula and the need to establish peace while walking through DMZ sites in Ganghwa Island and Incheon, but the event was inevitably replaced with live broadcasts through the KIEP YouTube channel, following the government's recent elevation of the social distancing level in response to rising COVID-19 cases.

 

Live broadcast "LIVE Talk Show! : Talk about DMZ Peace Economy" featured a DMZ peace experience Vlog, interviews with related experts and quiz events that toured the 6.25 Veterans Memorial Park, the Incheon Urban History Museum, the Incheon Free Economic Zone Observatory and the Ganghwa Peace Observatory.

 

In his pre-event interview, President Heungchong Kim of KIEP stated, "The peace process on the Korean Peninsula should continue to be pursued regardless of the environment at home and abroad, and we should prevent a situation where the Korean Peninsula is headed for a war crisis as we saw in 2017," he stressed. Furthermore, he said that the current situation, in which the international situation is rapidly changing, is both a crisis and an opportunity for the Korean government, and called for Korea to play a more leading role as a party to the Korean Peninsula issue.

 

The forum was recognized for its contributions to forming a global consensus, by presenting policies and roadmaps to realize the idea of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, amidst an unprecedented health and economic crisis. The NRC and KIEP, and other related agencies, pledged to lead an era of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula through continued exchanges and cooperation in the future.

- Title: 2020 DMZ International Forum on the Peace Economy
- Topic: Overcoming the Barriers: Towards Peace and Prosperity
- Date: December 3‒4, 2020
- Venue: Incheon Songdo Convensia, Incheon Urban History Museum, Ganghwa Peace Observatory, etc.
- Hosts: National Research Council For Economics, Humanities And Social Sciences, Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, The Incheon Institute, National Unification Advisory Council
- Sponsors: Ministry of Unification, Incheon Metropolitan City
- Contact: Ms. InJee Yoo, Researcher, Center for Area Studies (044-414-1544)

※ The event was held in compliance with the government’s COVID-19 prevention guidelines.