Cheong "Employment flexibility proposed by Joo Ho-young is not agreed by President Moon... Opposition misunderstanding"

Yoon Do-han, Senior Secretary for Public Communication at the Blue House
Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] On the 29th, the Blue House denied the opposition party's claim that President Moon Jae-in "agreed" after meeting with Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the United Future Party, who proposed increasing 'employment flexibility' to encourage corporate activities.

Yoon Do-han, Blue House Director of National Communication, said in an interview on MBC radio program 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that day, "The issue of employment flexibility essentially means 'making it easier to fire employees,'" and added, "(President Moon) only listened to the related proposal and did not agree. It is a part that cannot be agreed upon."

Yoon explained again, "The business community has long argued that employment flexibility should be expanded to revive the economy, and the United Future Party may have had a similar view to the business community so far," but "President Moon only listened to that story (not agreed to it)." He continued, "When Floor Leader Joo spoke, President Moon did not say 'No,' so the opposition party might say he 'agreed,' but it is difficult to see that as agreement. It could be misunderstood."

When asked by the host whether it was confirmed that President Moon "did not agree," Yoon said, "Chief of Staff Noh Young-min, who was seated right next to him, heard everything." He then emphasized, "(Expanding employment flexibility) is very unrelated to overcoming the COVID-19 crisis," and stated, "It is judged to lead to more crisis rather than overcoming it."

The Blue House had attempted institutional cooperation by creating a 'Permanent Consultative Body between the Ruling and Opposition Parties' during the 20th National Assembly, but it was not properly operated. Regarding whether such a body will be reconsidered in the upcoming 21st National Assembly, Yoon said, "The party landscape has changed since the 20th National Assembly," but added, "Of course, the Justice Party should be brought into the dialogue as a partner in state affairs." He also said, "This is not only a Blue House issue; the Democratic Party also needs to plan how to engage in dialogue with the Justice Party," and added, "The forum with the two major parties was created the day before, and the scope of dialogue will continue to expand."

Meanwhile, Yoon also revealed that there was no mention of Yoon Mee-hyang, the elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea, during the luncheon meeting between President Moon and the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties the previous day. He said, "According to what we have grasped, there was no mention of Representative Yoon, only discussions about comfort women," and maintained the existing position that "the president has no involvement in Representative Yoon's position."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.