Cheongwadae and United Party Play 'Truth Game' Over Summit Meeting

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The Blue House proposed a summit meeting between the ruling and opposition parties, but the United Future Party (UFP) has reacted angrily, denying the claim. While the Blue House stated that it extended a hand for cooperation but the UFP declined, the UFP insists that no formal proposal was made. The past strained relationship between President Moon and UFP Emergency Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in is also being brought up.

On the 18th, Joo Ho-young, UFP floor leader, appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and said, "If the president officially asks to meet, there would be procedures and methods, but I heard it was just a casual, passing remark like 'Wouldn't it be good to meet once?'"

Earlier, on the 17th, Choi Jae-sung, Blue House Senior Secretary for Political Affairs, said in a briefing, "On the 13th of this month, as the new Senior Secretary for Political Affairs, I visited Chairman Kim and expressed the president's intention to invite the party leader, but the UFP responded yesterday that the proposed date of the 21st was not possible." He added, "President Moon's proposal for dialogue with party leaders is always open. During this difficult time for the nation with the spread of COVID-19, flood damage, and economic crisis, we ask the political world to come together with strength and wisdom."

However, the UFP suspects that Choi's remarks were not a formal proposal but merely a customary comment, questioning whether this is an 'alibi-building' for cooperation. Floor leader Joo said, "We should create an opportunity to meet and frankly discuss national difficulties and challenges, but the fact that there was not even a formal proposal regarding such procedures is ridiculous." He criticized, "The president talks about cooperation whenever he has the chance, but it seems like cooperation is only talked about in words, and rather than genuinely preparing for cooperation, this might be misunderstood as an alibi for appearances."

Kim Ki-hyun, a member of the same party, also appeared on KBS Radio's 'Kim Kyung-rae's Strongest Current Affairs' and questioned, "Representative Lee Hae-chan (Democratic Party) will end his term in ten days, so if we call him and sit down with our emergency committee chairman for a meeting, what kind of ridiculous story is that?"

The failed summit meeting has also revived talk of the past 'bad blood' between President Moon and Chairman Kim. In 2016, when Kim joined the Democratic Party's emergency committee, he indirectly expressed discomfort about former party leader Moon by saying, "You need a recorder when meeting former leader Moon." In his recent book, 'There Is No Eternal Power,' he criticized President Moon as "a person surrounded by complexity" and said, "The possibility of him completing his term comfortably seems extremely low."

With the UFP's approval ratings rising as a side effect of the government's real estate policies, the incentive for the Blue House to hold a summit meeting has weakened. In January, former UFP leader Hwang Kyo-ahn proposed a one-on-one summit with the Blue House, but it was held as a meeting with leaders of the four ruling and opposition parties. In March, a summit was proposed to overcome the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), but it fizzled out.

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