"Apologies for Falling Short of Public Expectations"... Government and Presidential Office Bow Low at Party-Government Council Meeting

Handuksoo "It is true that expectations have not been fully met... I will visit sites to explain"
Kim Daegi "We must do our best to prevent delays in livelihood issues due to political situations"
Kwon Seongdong "Preemptive measures for Chuseok prices are necessary"

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (third from the right) and People Power Party Floor Leader Kwon Seong-dong (third from the left), along with other attendees, are having a conversation before the high-level party-government meeting held on the morning of the 28th at the Prime Minister's official residence in Samcheong-dong, Seoul.
From the second on the left: People Power Party Deputy Floor Leader Song Eon-seok, Floor Leader Kwon, Prime Minister Han, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho, and People Power Party Secretary-General Kim Seok-ki. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] At the high-level party-government meeting to discuss Chuseok livelihood measures, the Presidential Office and the government apologized for a series of political turmoil. Kwon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, called for measures to address inflation.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said in his opening remarks at the 3rd high-level party-government meeting held on the 28th at the Prime Minister's residence in Samcheong-dong, "So far, the party and government have held two high-level and occasional party-government meetings to discuss urgent livelihood and economic issues, COVID-19 measures, and flood damage countermeasures," but added, "It is also true that despite these efforts, they have not fully met the public's expectations."

He continued, "The government must visit the field more frequently to continuously check and supplement the effectiveness of policies and, if necessary, make detailed explanations to the public," and said, "At the first regular National Assembly session since the launch of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, the Prime Minister's Office will lead efforts to establish a cooperative system with related ministries to ensure that bills and budgets pass as planned."

Kim Dae-gi, Chief of Staff to the President, said, "Now, it is almost impossible to push forward major national tasks by the executive branch alone without cooperation from the National Assembly," and added, "The party and government must unite and make every effort to ensure that major livelihood issues are not delayed due to political circumstances." Kim said, "We have focused solely on the people and made our best efforts for them, but we regret that some aspects have not met the expectations of certain citizens."

Floor leader Kwon said, "With the peak season demand expanding ahead of Chuseok, the prices of daily necessities remain high," and added, "The party and government must take preemptive measures to reduce the pressure of price increases during the peak season." Specifically, he said, "We need to release stockpiled agricultural products and prepare temporary tariff reduction measures for imported agricultural and marine products," and requested, "Please expedite administration so that price stabilization measures can be implemented before Chuseok."

Floor leader Kwon also said, "The public's suffering due to COVID-19 and economic recession has not easily recovered," and urged, "First, measures to reduce transportation and communication costs to alleviate the living expenses of ordinary people should be prepared quickly." Additionally, he said, "The pain of ordinary people caused by high interest rates is also serious. Tasks to reduce mortgage loan interest rates and loan interest rates must be promptly pursued," but added, "Safety measures are also necessary to prevent interest rate policies from turning into moral hazard."

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