Ruling Party Designates Mourning Period for Former Prime Minister Lee Haechan... Events Canceled in Succession

Jeju On-site Supreme Council Meeting Canceled Today
"The Mincho" Meeting and Other Events Postponed Sequentially

Following the passing of former Prime Minister Lee Haechan, the political community has been canceling or postponing various scheduled events, continuing to express condolences for the deceased.

In May 2018, former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan attended the publication celebration of the book "My Life to the People" held at the Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, and expressed his gratitude. Photo by Yoon Dongjoo

According to the political community on January 26, the Democratic Party of Korea canceled the on-site Supreme Council meeting that was originally scheduled to be held in Jeju that morning. Instead, party leaders traveled to Seoul and held a brief meeting at the National Assembly.

Park Soo-hyun, chief spokesperson of the Democratic Party, met with reporters after the closed Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly that day and said, "Party leader Jung Cheongrae has designated this week as a period of mourning and remembrance, and requested that everyone be especially mindful of their words and actions, and refrain from making contentious comments or statements." He added, "During this period, only the minimum essential party work will be carried out." Park further explained that the process of gathering opinions from each party member regarding the proposed merger with the Rebuilding Korea Party will only proceed after the mourning period has ended.

Party leader Jung and the party leadership plan to greet the funeral procession of former Prime Minister Lee at Incheon Airport on the morning of January 27, and will remain at the memorial altar afterward.

At the National Assembly plenary session scheduled for January 29, only livelihood-related bills agreed upon by both the ruling and opposition parties will be handled, while bills involving political disputes will be excluded.

The "The Mincho" group, a gathering of first-term Democratic Party lawmakers, had originally planned to meet on January 26 to discuss a response to the proposed merger with the Rebuilding Korea Party, but has postponed the meeting to next week.

The National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, which had planned to hold a general meeting that day to inquire about follow-up measures related to summit diplomacy, also decided to postpone its schedule through consultations between the ruling and opposition party secretaries.

National Assembly Speaker Woo Wonshik has also postponed the New Year press conference that was scheduled for 10 a.m. on January 27.

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