Yoon: Communication between ruling party and administration is smooth

“The ruling party and the administration are communicating smoothly through multiple channels. High-level consultative meetings between the party and the administration are held every weekend,” South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on the relationship between the ruling party and the government during a press conference on Thursday held after a briefing on state affairs. “I also talk to the members and relevant figures of the ruling party over the phone, and they often pay me visits,” he added.

It was the president’s response to a question of whether a delay in the dinner plan between the president and the leadership of the People Power Party was due to his strained relationship with the party’s leader Han Dong-hoon, after Han proposed a plan to postpone increasing the number of medical students to after 2026, which isn’t in line with the presidential office’s stance. “Various opinions are bound to be expressed regarding current issues in liberal democracy,” President Yoon said.

However, President Yoon did not mention the party leader in his answer to the question, nor did he during the entire press conference. Some ruling party members believe that the president expressed displeasure toward Han.

Han did not bend his position that an arbitration plan is needed regarding the issue of increasing the number of medical students on Friday. Regarding the issue of the medical vacuum, he said the administration thought it was manageable while he believed it was serious after listening to public opinion and public sentiment, publicly acknowledging the difference between the two sides’ understanding. “The driver of medical reform is people. We need to carefully listen to people’s concerns and worries and respond accordingly,” he said. “We need to understand the seriousness of the situation in emergency rooms and operating rooms, which warrants alternatives and arbitration, and come up with effective alternatives.”

Han held an on-site meeting at a rest area for street cleaners in Jung-gu, Seoul, during the same time when the president’s briefing on state affairs and press conference were broadcast live.


Jun-Il Kim jikim@donga.com