Kim and Jang Meeting, Consensus on 'Strengthening Cooperation'... Will the Summit Follow?

[Financial News] Amid extreme political confrontation making cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties difficult, Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, and Kim Min-seok, Prime Minister, agreed to strengthen communication to solve people's livelihood issues. The People Power Party aims to use this meeting as a stepping stone for a bilateral summit between President Lee Jae-myung and Leader Jang. However, with contentious bills such as the Special Law on Rebellion and the stronger Three Major Special Prosecutor's Law pending, the ruling and opposition parties must overcome various obstacles to restore cooperation.
Leader Jang and Prime Minister Kim met at the National Assembly on the 1st. It is reported that during a private meeting, Prime Minister Kim congratulated Leader Jang on his election and conveyed words of encouragement to solve national challenges and livelihood difficulties together.
In a public statement, Leader Jang urged Prime Minister Kim to fulfill his role as Prime Minister for cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties. Referring to issues like the drought in Gangneung, Gangwon, and the Korea-U.S. summit, he said, "The National Assembly is unable to solve these through cooperation, and while talking about moving forward, it continues to focus on attacking the opposition party over past issues," adding, "For cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties, the Prime Minister should also play a role, and create many opportunities for the ruling and opposition parties to come together and deliberate."
Prime Minister Kim also congratulated Leader Jang on his election, saying, "The President has been trying to meet opposition leaders frequently since taking office," and "It would be good if the meeting between President Lee and Leader Jang happens soon, allowing the public to hear and explain the issues they are curious about, and through this, diverse dialogues between the ruling and opposition parties and the President and Leader Jang can take place."
It is reported that even during the private meeting, only formal conversations were exchanged. Leader Jang proposed that the ruling and opposition parties come together to solve livelihood difficulties, and Prime Minister Kim expressed his intention to listen to the opposition's voices in various forms without being bound by formality. Leader Jang also conveyed, "It would be good if the results of the Korea-U.S. summit were transparently disclosed."
Attention is focused on whether this meeting will lead to a phase of cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties. Chief Spokesperson Park Seong-hoon said, "Prime Minister Kim said he would work hard for cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties," and regarding the bilateral summit with the President, "Today's courtesy call should serve as a starting point for a bilateral summit between Leader Jang and President Lee."
The People Power Party fundamentally believes that the Presidential Office and the Democratic Party of Korea need to change their attitude. They should put down their hostile attitude towards the People Power Party. Leader Jang expressed concerns about the ruling party's push for the establishment of a Special Court for Rebellion as 'unconstitutional,' and strongly criticized the unilateral handling of contentious bills such as the Commercial Act, Yellow Envelope Act (Amendment to the Labor Union Act Articles 2 and 3), and the Three Major Special Prosecutor's Law by the ruling bloc. In this regard, Leader Jang pointed out, "Although there is an opening ceremony today, it seems too far for the ruling and opposition parties to join hands." Chief Spokesperson Park said, "The Chief of Staff of the ruling party's leader called Leader Jang a psychopath," adding, "If the perception of the ruling party's leader does not change, it will be difficult to have a normal meeting."
Regarding the summit with the President, he emphasized, "Not only the achievements of the Korea-U.S. summit but also the difficulties of people's livelihoods can be included in the agenda," and "Depending on what kind of forward-looking stance the Presidential Office takes, the meeting can happen."

haeram@fnnews.com Lee Haeram Reporter