Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, pointed out that Hong Joon-pyo, the senior ruling party figure and mayor of Daegu who met with Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, the day before and criticized the party and the presidential office, "has lost a lot of discernment because he has been in politics for too long."
On the 11th, Ha said on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' "When I see Mayor Hong, sometimes he is really smart. So smart that I am truly impressed, but other times he is quite lacking. So his sense of judgment is considerably diminished."
Mayor Hong, at a meeting with Lee in Daegu the day before, criticized Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, and the presidential office, drawing resentment from the ruling party. Yoo Sang-beom, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, also pointed out to Yonhap News the day before, "I hope the senior party member thinks about how the public will view him attacking the party leader and the presidential office while meeting with the opposition leader."
Ha was also critical of Hong's remarks. He said, "I also criticize the presidential office and party leadership sometimes, but Lee is almost hostile to the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. It's not something to bring up in front of such a person," adding, "Even the same words should vary depending on time and place, and that is politics. Speaking ill of the party and presidential office in front of the opposition party leader who is hostile to the president is inappropriate."
Ha said, "The ruling party leader calling the party petty and disparaging the group he belongs to is like pouring pollutants on his own face and smearing his own image."
He believed that while a summit meeting might be difficult, a three-party meeting with the leaders of both ruling and opposition parties could be possible. Ha said, "From my perspective, the president refuses one-on-one talks but not multi-party talks, for example, a three-party meeting with our party leader might be possible," adding, "When you have one-on-one talks, usually negotiations are a deal, a give-and-take. Then what would Lee think? 'Please go easy on the prosecution investigation, and in return, I will pass the law.' Just the fact that such a conversation might have happened would make the public distrust the rule of law in the Republic of Korea."
On the same day, Ha also engaged in a heated debate with the host over issues such as 'worker welfare.' When the host said, "What I feel a bit sad about is that in the U.S., companies like Samsung Electronics or Hyundai Motor are invited to come, but to receive subsidies, kindergartens must be built to the level we want, and labor and employment related to women must be guaranteed like this and that. Also, regarding labor, as you probably know, lawmakers are trying hard to get more overtime pay, but here, we say that lowering it will attract capital," Ha responded, "Anchor, you shouldn't distort things," and raised his voice.
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