Park Sung-jun: "Summit Meeting, Had High Expectations but No Changes Could Be Seen"

Park "No Will to Restore Livelihoods or Change Government Policy Direction"
"However, Consensus Formed to Continue Communication"

Park Seong-jun, the chief spokesperson of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "(President Yoon Seok-yeol's) perception of the situation is too complacent, raising concerns about the future of state affairs."

On the 29th at around 5 p.m., Chief Spokesperson Park held a briefing at the National Assembly regarding the meeting between President Yoon and Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung. He summarized the overall evaluation of the summit as "no signs of change." He added, "Especially regarding the shift in the government’s policy direction and the recovery of people’s livelihoods, which our party had advocated for, there seemed to be no will." He also noted, "However, both sides agreed on the necessity of communication and decided to continue it going forward."

Senior Spokesperson Park Seong-jun of the Democratic Party of Korea is briefing on the results of the summit meeting at the National Assembly on the 29th. From the left, Cheon Jun-ho, Chief Secretary to the Representative, Spokesperson Park, and Jin Seong-jun, Chairman of the Policy Committee.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Chief Spokesperson Park said, "I asked the leader for his brief remarks on the summit," and conveyed, "Leader Lee said, 'It was frustrating and disappointing. We should place significance on having opened the first chapter of communication.'" He continued, "Beforehand, the Democratic Party had sufficiently conveyed the need for a policy shift to the Presidential Office, but even in the closed meeting, there was no related will. The unilateral dominance of the Yoon administration was judged in the recent general election, but there was no will at all, so we were disappointed."

The meeting between President Yoon and Leader Lee began around 2 p.m. and ended at 4:14 p.m. This 130-minute meeting was attended by Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Hong Cheol-ho, and Senior Secretary for Public Relations Lee Do-woon from the Presidential Office. From the Democratic Party, Policy Committee Chair Jin Seong-jun, Chief Secretary to the Leader Cheon Jun-ho, and Chief Spokesperson Park Seong-jun were present.

After the briefing, Chief Spokesperson Park explained the topics discussed to reporters. He said, "First, I mentioned to the President the issue of forced investigations under the name of defamation related to media reports. Then the discussion moved to research and development (R&D), pension reform, medical reform, the Itaewon Special Act, and the ruling-opposition-government livelihood council." He added, "There was no time to discuss the remaining topics."

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, are holding a meeting on the 29th at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

When asked by a reporter about "the issue to which the President responded most positively," he replied, "there was some agreement on the necessity of medical reform during the discussion." Leader Lee expressed agreement on the necessity of the government's ongoing plan to increase medical school admissions and promised active cooperation. However, the Democratic Party responded that the President's answers were insufficient regarding topics other than the medical school admission increase.

Chief Spokesperson Park cited the "President's long response time" as the reason for the extended meeting. He said, "Chief Secretary Cheon Jun-ho calculated the time ratio to be about 85 to 15," and added, "After Leader Lee's remarks in the closed meeting, President Yoon spoke quite extensively." He further explained, "For the meeting to be substantive, it should have been more concise and focused, but too much time was spent on a single agenda, which made it feel somewhat prolonged."

Chief Spokesperson Park pointed out the differences in views between President Yoon and Leader Lee one by one. Regarding pension reform, Leader Lee said, "There is the '50% income replacement rate and 13% contribution rate' decided by the National Assembly's Public Deliberation Committee, and now it is only up to the President to choose and decide." President Yoon reportedly responded, "Since it is difficult to do this in the 21st National Assembly, how about further discussion and decision in the 22nd National Assembly?"

The 'Itaewon Disaster Special Act' was also discussed at the meeting. According to Chief Spokesperson Park, Leader Lee said, "Shouldn't we pass the special act to uncover the truth and relieve the grievances of the bereaved families?" President Yoon reportedly rejected the bill's passage, stating, "There are toxic clauses in the law." He also mentioned, "If there is something necessary between the ruling and opposition parties, wouldn't it be better to discuss it concretely?"

On the other hand, Leader Lee reportedly showed reluctance regarding President Yoon's proposal for the 'Ruling-Opposition-Government Livelihood Council.' This council was proposed by President Yoon during discussions on the emergency livelihood recovery measures, which include the 'Livelihood Recovery Support Fund' pledged by Leader Lee during the general election. Regarding Leader Lee's request for President Yoon's decision on the emergency livelihood recovery measures, President Yoon replied, "The priority is to properly execute the currently allocated budget for small business support, and during the execution process, we can activate the Ruling-Opposition-Government Livelihood Council for further discussion."

Chief Spokesperson Park concluded the briefing by stating that there was no mention at all regarding the 'Prime Minister appointment.'

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