Yoon is against Democratic Party's proposal for meeting

President Yoon Suk Yeol has not responded to the main opposition party’s proposal for a meeting claiming that “there is no specific message.” However, the president left the possibility of discussing whether to hold talks after Democratic Party of Korea leader candidate Lee Jae-myung's reappointment was confirmed at the party convention on Aug. 18.

“We must hold a meeting between the ruling and opposition parties as soon as possible to deal with pending economic tasks and discuss overcoming the bipartisan crisis,” said Park Chan-dae, acting leader and floor leader of the Democratic Party at the Supreme Council meeting on Wednesday, right after the day Lee mentioned President Yoon as the most desired person that he wished to meet. Lee's camp explained that the remarks were based on principle and had considered proposing a leadership meeting after Lee’s re-election as party leader.

The opposition party's meeting proposal was not met with enthusiasm. The Presidential Office said that Lee’s behavior during the first meeting, such as reading aloud a statement for 15 minutes, was inappropriate and that the recent proposal lacked sincerity. “The proposal to meet for bipartisan cooperation seems incoherent when the party dominates legislative proposals and calls for impeachment most of the time,” a senior official with the President's Office said in a phone call.

Meanwhile, there is still a possibility of the president considering meeting after the Democratic National Convention to address pending political issues such as proposed impeachment and special prosecution scandal. If the meeting takes place, the focus will be on whether it will be a one-on-one meeting between President Yoon and Lee or a three-party meeting with People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon present as well.

Han met with reporters and said that he “welcomes any change in thinking or proposal to stabilize economic issues through talks and start (discussions) with a focus on policy.” However, Han’s aide suggested in a phone call that “if Lee is re-elected, it might be desirable to meet with Han first before meeting with President Yoon.”


Na-Ri Shin journari@donga.com