President Moon Meets with Ruling Party Leaders to Discuss Closing COVID-19 Gap

Shin Hyun-soo's Position as Cheong Wa Dae Civil Affairs Secretary Not Included in Agenda... Lee Nak-yeon Says "Inappropriate to Mention Personnel Issues"

[Asia Economy reporters Ryu Jeong-min, Lee Ji-eun, Jeon Jin-young] President Moon Jae-in and the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea met at the Blue House on the 19th to discuss political and livelihood issues, including closing the COVID-19 gap.

This is the first time since the launch of the Lee Nak-yeon leadership system in August last year that the new Democratic Party leadership, including the Supreme Council members, has met with President Moon. It is known that the issue related to the position of Shin Hyun-soo, the Blue House Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, which had attracted attention, was not included in the official discussion topics.

The meeting between President Moon and the ruling party leadership was held from 11 a.m. at the Chungmu Room of the Blue House. Attending from the ruling party were Lee Nak-yeon, floor leader Kim Tae-nyeon, Supreme Council members Kim Jong-min, Yeom Tae-young, Noh Woong-rae, Shin Dong-geun, Yang Hyang-ja, Park Hong-bae, Park Sung-min, Policy Committee Chair Hong Ik-pyo, Chief Spokesperson Choi In-ho, and Secretary General Oh Young-hoon. From the Blue House, Chief Secretary Yoo Young-min, Policy Chief Kim Sang-jo, National Security Office Chief Suh Hoon, and Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Choi Jae-sung were present.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In his opening remarks, President Moon emphasized the importance of party-government cooperation for closing the COVID-19 gap and achieving inclusive recovery. After Lee Nak-yeon’s greeting, a private report by Policy Committee Chair Hong and informal talks followed.

Earlier, Lee Nak-yeon said at the National Assembly Supreme Council meeting that morning, "Since quarantine and livelihood economy recovery are urgent issues, these will be the main topics of discussion."

He also added, "Regarding disaster relief funds, I will speak based on three principles: minimizing blind spots to provide broad support, providing substantial support, and ensuring that supplementary budget processing and execution are carried out swiftly." He refrained from commenting on sensitive political issues such as the position of Senior Secretary Shin. When meeting with reporters, Lee said, "It is not appropriate to discuss personnel matters in a meeting with many people."

However, Lee mentioned, "Communication among a small number of high-level officials is ongoing." Senior Secretary Shin took leave on the 18th and 19th and is scheduled to return on the 22nd. The Blue House hopes that the controversy over his position will be resolved after his return. Regarding this, Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, who is at the center of the controversy, stated that he will call Senior Secretary Shin during the day to convey a message of reconciliation.

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