통일과 재원조달 논의에 대한 새로운 고찰

초록

This study intends to give some fresh reflections on Korean Unification and it’s financing issues. The pre-conditions of a peaceful Korean unification state that there should exist a North Korean government representing peoples’ desire for unification, and the international community should cooperate toward Korean unification. The magnitude of the so-called unification costs will be determined not by necessities but by economic and fiscal capacities of the South Korean government at the time of unification. There is a prevalent view that favors a gradual unification after the income level of the North reaches above a certain level to minimize the unification costs. The income disparities between the South and the North could be widened as time goes by under realistic growth assumptions so that the prevalent view would be challenged. We show that the so-called ‘unification taxes’ are an inefficient idea as growth rates of the South Korean economy would be much higher than real interest rates. Finally, this study presents realistic measures to minimize North-to-South migrations in terms of providing appropriate economic incentives for North Korean people to stay.

키워드