President Moon has lunch with Mayors Oh Se-hoon and Park Hyung-joon... Launching 'Opposition Cooperation'

After Lee Cheol-hee's Appointment as Senior Secretary for Political Affairs, a 'Cooperation' Meeting with Opposition Local Leaders... Discussions on COVID-19 Response and Housing Stability for the Underprivileged

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] On the 21st, President Moon Jae-in invited Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon to the Blue House for lunch, initiating 'cooperation' with the opposition party. During this meeting, a wide range of national issues such as COVID-19 quarantine response and real estate problems were discussed.

Park Kyung-mi, Blue House spokesperson, stated, "Following President Moon's intention, Mayor Oh and Mayor Park were invited, and both mayors willingly accepted," adding, "This is the first cooperation meeting with opposition party-affiliated local government heads since Lee Cheol-hee assumed the position of Senior Secretary for Political Affairs."

Chief Presidential Secretary Yoo Young-min and Senior Secretary Lee also attended the lunch. President Moon had a preliminary conversation with Mayor Oh and Mayor Park before proceeding with a private lunch.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

It is unusual for the president to invite only opposition figures to the Blue House for lunch. This signals an intention to reflect the opposition's voice in national governance, considering the public sentiment revealed in the April 7 by-elections.

Spokesperson Park explained, "This schedule was arranged because it is very important to put heads together and unite efforts with opposition party-affiliated local government heads on the issues of Seoul and Busan, the first and second largest cities in South Korea." Regarding the lunch agenda, she said, "We plan to exchange opinions on national issues such as COVID-19 quarantine, economic recovery for the people, and housing stability for the common citizens."

President Moon had previously urged at the Blue House senior secretaries and aides meeting on the 19th, "Please establish a special cooperation system with local governments where heads have changed due to elections."

Meanwhile, on the 20th, President Moon invited Democratic Party candidates Park Young-sun for Seoul mayor and Kim Young-choon for Busan mayor to the Blue House for a private dinner. This was a consolation meeting for their defeat in the Seoul and Busan mayoral elections as ruling party candidates.

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