Yoon and Lee Jae-myung to Meet on the 31st... 'De Facto First Communication' in Pre-State of the City Address Talk

Includes Budget Explanation and Reflections on State Affairs in Speech
Lee Jae-myung Attends Preliminary Talks... Hopes for Breakthrough in Cooperation

The Presidential Office stated on the 30th regarding President Yoon Seok-yeol's upcoming policy speech at the National Assembly on the 31st, "The National Assembly is the representative body of the people, so we can say that it will listen carefully to the voice."

When a reporter met with a Presidential Office official at the Yongsan Presidential Office in the afternoon and said, "You will communicate for the first time with Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, during the pre-discussion of the policy speech," the official responded, "If the policy speech takes place, the National Assembly leaders, including the Speaker, the five key figures (Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, Prime Minister, Chairman of the National Election Commission, and Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection), and the leaders of both ruling and opposition parties will all gather for a discussion."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

It is a long-standing tradition of the National Assembly for the president and the leaders of both ruling and opposition parties to attend a pre-discussion when the president delivers the policy speech on the next year's budget proposal.

The official said, "The policy speech is basically an occasion to explain the budget," adding, "There will basically be an explanation about the budget, and it may also include some reflections the president has felt while managing state affairs or recent national issues."

He continued, "We are still working on the manuscript to deliver a good policy speech to the people."

Earlier, Kwon Chil-seung, the senior spokesperson of the Democratic Party, told reporters after the party's Supreme Council meeting that "Lee Jae-myung has decided to attend the gathering during tomorrow's policy speech," adding, "There were various opinions, but it was concluded that the leader would attend by his decision."

President Yoon and Leader Lee have only briefly greeted each other at events such as commemorative ceremonies. Last year, the Democratic Party boycotted the policy speech in protest against the prosecution and Board of Audit and Inspection's all-out investigations and audits targeting the opposition.

However, this year, with President Yoon and Leader Lee holding a discussion and the Democratic Party deciding not to hold up hand placards or shout loudly during the policy speech on the next year's budget proposal at the National Assembly plenary session, there are expectations that the path to cooperation will open.

Meanwhile, when a reporter asked about the claim that "the Yeongam Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, where President Yoon attended the memorial service for the first anniversary of the Itaewon tragedy the day before, had never planned the memorial service and that the church had refused the service," the official said, "We gave a detailed explanation about the service yesterday," adding, "I don't think there is anything more to add, and since there are various voices on site, we will try to listen to them."

Regarding whether there was prior coordination with the Presidential Office about Kim Ki-hyun, the leader of the People Power Party, stating that he would push for incorporating Gimpo City into Seoul, the official replied, "This is the first time I am hearing about it," and said they would check.

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