President Moon to Meet Leaders of Four Major Parties on 28th to Discuss COVID-19 Response

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sunhee] President Moon Jae-in will visit the National Assembly on the 28th to discuss solutions for the 'Novel Coronavirus Infection (COVID-19)' with the leaders of ruling and opposition parties. This will be the sixth time since his inauguration in May 2017 that President Moon meets with party leaders, and the first time this year. As the need for bipartisan response to resolve the COVID-19 crisis grows, the meeting between President Moon and party leaders was promptly arranged.

A Blue House official said on the 26th, "President Moon will visit the National Assembly on the 28th to hold a meeting with party leaders regarding the COVID-19 situation." Attending the meeting are expected to be Lee Hae-chan, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the United Future Party, Sim Sang-jung, leader of the Justice Party, and representatives from the Minsheng Party. One of the co-leaders of the Minsheng Party, Kim Jeong-hwa or Yoo Seong-yeop, is expected to attend. Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, was excluded.

The meeting was proposed by the Blue House to the four parties and the schedule was coordinated accordingly. Considering previous cases of meetings with party leaders, the Blue House adjusted the attendees focusing on the floor negotiation groups and reportedly included the leader of the Justice Party as well.

President Moon’s visit to the National Assembly amid ongoing public concern over the COVID-19 crisis reflects his intention to gather political power from both ruling and opposition parties to overcome the difficult situation. President Moon is expected to request bipartisan cooperation to resolve the COVID-19 crisis. In particular, it is anticipated that he will urge the handling of the additional supplementary budget (추경) for COVID-19, which has been mentioned as a solution both inside and outside the political circle. During his visit to Daegu on the 25th, President Moon stated, "Special grants and contingency funds alone are insufficient," and added, "I believe active support through the supplementary budget is necessary, and fortunately, the National Assembly has expressed positive views regardless of party lines." Furthermore, various measures such as medical personnel, supplies, and financial support for the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, where the infection situation is most severe, are expected to be discussed.

Daegu is a political stronghold of the United Future Party, so the opposition party is also actively supportive of the aid efforts. The United Future Party has conveyed that it accepts this meeting unconditionally. There is no disagreement on the need for bipartisan cooperation regarding the COVID-19 outbreak centered in Daegu and Gyeongbuk. However, given that the 21st general election is scheduled for April 15, the ruling and opposition parties inevitably have different perceptions.

Regarding this, Leader Hwang said, "What we need is not formality but efforts to revive the people’s economy and especially to overcome the Wuhan pneumonia and Wuhan coronavirus crisis," adding, "I will share my thoughts and make efforts to ensure that the Wuhan pneumonia crisis is swiftly resolved."

Leader Hwang is expected to raise the issue of banning Chinese entry again. This differs from the Blue House’s plan. The ruling party judges that entry bans at this stage, when community transmission has already begun and the crisis alert level has been raised to 'serious,' are ineffective. Following expert recommendations, they intend to focus on a 'mitigation strategy.'