'Politics Can't Go On Like This'... United Lee Jae-myung and Hong Joon-pyo

Lee Jae-myung Visits Daegu City Hall on the 10th to Meet Hong Joon-pyo
Emphasizes the Importance of 'Dialogue and Compromise'

"Rational and good-faith competition is the essence of politics, but it seems we have entered a war stage from political strife." - Lee Jae-myung, Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea

"Now, there are only enemies and comrades." - Hong Joon-pyo, Mayor of Daegu

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Hong Joon-pyo, mayor of Daegu, met on the 10th. The two, who share the experience of having been opposition party leaders and heads of metropolitan governments, expressed concern about 'politics.'

On that day, Lee visited Daegu City Hall to pay a courtesy call on Mayor Hong. In a warm atmosphere, the two exchanged views on the extremely polarized political culture and the issue of regional extinction. Both expressed concern about the political culture falling into a hostile relationship.

Mayor Hong traced the cause to the behind-the-scenes mediation function between the ruling and opposition parties. He said, "When things were deadlocked, there used to be people who mediated behind the scenes. Elders or seniors played that role, but recently, such people have disappeared." He added, "As a result, politics has become uncompromising, and each party goes its own way. When politics becomes like this, the country becomes chaotic and difficult." Lee lamented, "Even when fighting, emotions should not be mixed, but it seems to have become emotional."

Both agreed that the way to resolve the current political conflicts lies in dialogue and compromise.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The overall atmosphere of the conversation was warm. Mayor Hong remarked to Lee, "Since Daegu City Hall was established, this is the first time a Democratic Party leader has come," giving significance to the meeting. In response, Lee said, "There are widespread rumors that Daegu has become newly vibrant thanks to Mayor Hong's outstanding leadership."

The two also expressed willingness to cooperate on issues such as the relocation of the new airport and the Moonlight Railroad project. Regarding this, Lee proposed, "Let's have a budget policy council meeting with the Democratic Party before the regular National Assembly session," and Mayor Hong welcomed the idea, saying, "Good. The Democratic Party will get many votes in Daegu in next year's general election." The Democratic Party, the majority party in the council, expressed its intention to actively support Daegu City's key projects, which Mayor Hong immediately welcomed.

Meanwhile, at this meeting, Mayor Hong continued to criticize his party, the People Power Party, and the Presidential Office. When Lee agreed with Mayor Hong's remark that "politics has become bleak" and asked him to say a word to the People Power Party, Hong criticized Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, saying, "The party leader is a bit petty and doesn't listen well. When I spoke up a bit, they even dismissed me as a standing adviser." Kim dismissed Mayor Hong from the standing adviser position on the 13th of last month.

Regarding the Presidential Office, Mayor Hong said, "The country will be stable only if the Democratic Party helps," and added, "Most of the people in President Yoon Seok-youl's administration do not understand politics well."

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