Yoon-Lee Summit to Be Held at Presidential Office on 29th... "Hope It Becomes an Opportunity to Resolve National Issues"

2 PM Chat Meeting... Conversation Without Agenda

Hong Cheol-ho, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Presidential Office, is briefing on the summit meeting between President Yoon Seok-yeol and Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul on the 26th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, will hold their first bilateral meeting at 2 p.m. on the 29th at the Yongsan Presidential Office.

Hong Cheol-ho, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs, held a briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the 26th regarding the summit meeting, stating, "President Yoon expressed his desire to hear a lot from Leader Lee, and Leader Lee expressed his intention to meet promptly regardless of whether the agenda is agreed upon. Therefore, it was agreed to hold a casual meeting," adding, "We hope this frank dialogue between the president and the opposition leader will serve as an opportunity to resolve national issues."

Earlier that morning, Senior Secretary Hong held the third working-level meeting with Cheon Jun-ho, Chief of Staff to the Democratic Party leader, to coordinate the schedule for the summit meeting.

After the working-level meeting, Senior Secretary Hong said, "Each side will have three attendees, with the specific personnel to be decided by each side," and added that the meeting will be held in a casual format. He further explained, "Since scheduling adjustments were made, the date could not be postponed indefinitely, so the earliest date was chosen," and "Considering both parties' views that having lunch or not is not important, it was decided to hold a casual meeting."

At the casual meeting on the 29th, three officials from the Presidential Office?Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok, Senior Secretary Hong, and Senior Secretary for Public Relations Lee Do-woon?will attend, along with three from the Democratic Party?Chief of Staff Cheon, Policy Committee Chair Jin Seong-jun, and Spokesperson Park Seong-jun.

Regarding questions about the private meeting time between President Yoon and Leader Lee, Senior Secretary Hong said, "I understand that the two will decide," and added, "If they feel naturally that more time is needed during their conversation, I think they will proceed accordingly." He continued, "The meeting is initially set for one hour, but if their discussion extends, it will continue without time limits," and said, "Since drafting a joint statement requires time, each side?the Yongsan office and the Democratic Party?will announce separately."

Additionally, Senior Secretary Hong conveyed, "After receiving the report on the working-level meeting, President Yoon said, 'Since Leader Lee accepted the invitation, prepare well and take good care of him.'"

When asked by reporters whether preparations are underway regarding the nomination of the prime minister or cooperation on key national tasks at the summit, Senior Secretary Hong replied, "The most important thing is the livelihood issues," and added, "I will just say that President Yoon is trying to find momentum through his meeting with Leader Lee on matters of public interest."

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