Yoon to Meet New Ruling Party Leadership Today, Urges 'One Team' Spirit... Expected to Call for Reform 추진

Attendance of Party Leader Kim Ki-hyun and Supreme Council Members on the 13th
Presidential Office: "A Celebration of Election Victory"... Emphasizing Party-Government Unity

President Yoon Suk-yeol will hold a meeting with the new leadership of the People Power Party on the 13th. This meeting comes just five days after the party convention, where President Yoon plans to congratulate the elected leaders and request smooth communication and cooperation with the Presidential Office.

According to the Presidential Office, President Yoon will invite the new leadership, including Kim Ki-hyun, the leader of the People Power Party, to the Yongsan Presidential Office for a dinner. A Presidential Office official stated, "This is a gathering to congratulate the elected officials," adding, "It will strengthen the will for close cooperation between the party, the Presidential Office, and the government."

President Yoon Suk-yeol clenched his fist after delivering a congratulatory speech at the 3rd People Power Party Convention held on the 8th at KINTEX in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

In particular, as President Yoon enters the second year of his administration, he is expected to ask for the party's cooperation in advancing the three major reforms (labor, education, and pension), which are key national policy tasks. He plans to emphasize the 'one team' approach among the party, government, and Presidential Office, and may specifically mention the prompt legislative support for each reform task. Attending from the Presidential Office will be Chief Secretary Kim Dae-gi, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Lee Jin-bok, and Senior Secretary for National Policy Planning Lee Gwan-seop. President Yoon and Leader Kim may also have separate time together before or after the dinner. Leader Kim has already begun coordinating efforts.

At the party's Supreme Council meeting held that morning, he repeatedly emphasized the 'three major reforms (labor, pension, education)' that President Yoon is strongly pushing. Leader Kim stated, "The outdated labor system must be reformed to meet global standards that lead to corporate investment and job creation," and pointed out, "Pension reform, which is dismissed as generational exploitation during a time of serious social issues like low birthrate and aging population, cannot be delayed." He continued, "The old education system that makes talent development difficult is also an obstacle to the future. It is necessary to revise the uniform entrance exam system and inefficient education finances to suit the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution," emphasizing, "The three major reforms are a turning point for whether our economy will collapse or leap forward, and the Democratic Party must cooperate across party lines and work together."

Given that legislative support from the National Assembly is essential for these reform tasks, there is a high possibility that cooperation with the major opposition party, the Democratic Party, will be mentioned. It is a situation where they cannot simply wait until next year's general election, and the Democratic Party has already defined the key policy tasks of the Yoon administration as regressions, showing moves to block legislation and propose separate bills.

Since this is a meeting of a ceremonial nature, messages aimed at early resolution of the aftereffects of the party convention are also expected. Emergency Response Committee Chairman Chung Jin-seok, who led the party during the election period, is expected to attend. Given the conflict that arose between the pro-Yoon Suk-yeol faction, to which Leader Kim belongs, and the anti-Yoon Suk-yeol faction during the convention, party unity will need to be drawn out for the sake of a 'one team' approach.

The high-level party-government council, which has been suspended since last January, is also expected to resume. Strengthening working-level party-government meetings is also being discussed. Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Lee Jin-bok said after meeting Leader Kim at the National Assembly on the 9th, "A foundation has been created for the party to operate stably, so I have high hopes that, based on that foundation, the President's governance and the two pillars can work well together."

Since the dinner will take place ahead of President Yoon's visit to Japan on the 16th and 17th, there is interest in whether discussions will cover solutions for forced labor issues or the Korea-Japan summit. Public opinion polls released after the government's announcement on the forced labor solution showed high opposition, and President Yoon's approval ratings have started to decline since then. At this meeting, President Yoon is expected to listen to the party's cooperation for public persuasion and the formulation of solutions. A Presidential Office official added, "Since this is the first meeting, it will be more of an encouraging gathering rather than a heavy session with detailed and specific discussions," and "However, it will be an important time to confirm intentions regarding various domestic and international issues."