Ruling and opposition parties seek breakthrough on real estate, tax and other contentious issues through a one-on-one consultation body

[Financial News] The Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party unveiled plans on the 15th to break through disagreements over contentious issues, including real estate policy, tax reform proposals and the new criminal justice system, by forming a one-on-one consultation body.
At a joint livelihood policy meeting of the ruling and opposition parties held at the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea that day, Im Lee-ja, policy committee chair of the People Power Party, said, "The two parties have similar views on common pledges, so it is relatively easy to find areas of agreement. The problem lies in major pending issues such as real estate policy, tax reform, police reform, pension reform and supplementary legislation for the Yellow Envelope Act." Im added, "We cannot leave these livelihood issues unresolved simply because we have differences of opinion."
Im proposed the plan to the Democratic Party of Korea, saying, "Today (the 15th), I propose launching a responsible consultation body between the policy committee vice chairs of the two parties." She added, "For each major issue, including real estate, taxation and social policy, we should designate one policy committee vice chair from each party as responsible and establish a dedicated one-on-one communication channel for regular consultations."
She continued, "I believe that clearly designating those responsible and meeting frequently to narrow the issues one by one can produce tangible results." Im added, "The two parties should swiftly legislate common pledges and continue seeking common ground on contentious issues through one-on-one consultations between those responsible. That is the cooperation the people want."
Kwon Chil-seung, policy committee chair of the Democratic Party of Korea, emphasized, "Since the two parties have different philosophies and policy orientations, clashes of opinion are inevitable." He nevertheless stressed, "The beginning and end of every debate must be the people and their livelihoods."
After the meeting, Kwon responded, "The joint livelihood policy meeting of the ruling and opposition parties will serve as a forum for vigorous debate on issues where the parties disagree, with people’s livelihoods as the ultimate goal." He added, "Partisan political conflict must not prevail over people’s livelihoods. Even if politicians disagree, let us cooperate on people’s livelihoods."
The policy committees of the two parties agreed that day to hold further discussions to establish the one-on-one policy consultation body proposed by Im. They also decided to pursue policy forums jointly hosted by the two parties on major contentious issues, including real estate policy and tax reform proposals. Through these efforts, they plan to reach agreements on various contentious issues during the regular session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. 
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Kwon said, "It will not take long to form the one-on-one consultation body." He explained, "There are issues to coordinate, such as deciding who will serve as the vice chair responsible for each area and what the agenda will be. We also need to consider expanding the discussions by involving the secretaries of the standing committees responsible for the relevant bills. Opinions are currently being coordinated with all of these factors in mind. We intend to discuss everything together and move forward quickly."
[email protected] Kim Hyeong-gu Reporter