President Moon meets with ruling and opposition floor leaders for 156 minutes, outlining cooperation blueprint

by Ryu Jeongmin

Published 28 May.2020 15:13(KST)

Lunch meeting at Sangchunjae, Cheongwadae to discuss COVID-19 response and other issues... Seeking a cooperation model for the 21st National Assembly

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] On the 28th, President Moon Jae-in held a 156-minute meeting at the Blue House with the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties to discuss the blueprint for cooperation related to the launch of the 21st National Assembly. The meeting lasted from 12:01 PM to 2:37 PM (including a walk around the premises).

The meeting between President Moon and the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties lasted longer than initially scheduled, and after lunch, they continued their discussion while taking a walk around the premises to deepen the conversation.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The meeting was conducted in a format where President Moon and Chief Secretary to the President Noh Young-min welcomed Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the United Future Party. President Moon and Chief Secretary Noh greeted the floor leaders at Sangchunjae in the Blue House, followed by light greetings and a commemorative photo session.

Floor leader Joo commented, "The weather is very nice," to which President Moon responded, "Yes, it's sparkling." When floor leader Kim said, "I hope today's conversation goes as well as the weather," floor leader Joo replied with a pointed joke, "As long as Kim doesn't say that he’s taking all the (National Assembly standing committee chairmanships)."

Based on this meeting, the Blue House plans to find a bipartisan cooperation model related to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis. The idea is to establish a model of cooperation by regularizing meetings between the president and the leadership of the ruling and opposition parties. The opposition party plans to leverage this in response to current issues such as the negotiation over the organization of the 21st National Assembly, aiming to induce concessions from the ruling party. This means that if the ruling party wants the opposition's cooperation, it must show a willingness to make concessions.