"Crime is at the suspicion stage... Respect must be shown to representatives elected by the people"
"The hostile relationship between ruling and opposition parties must be resolved by the president"
Former Minister of Environment Yoon Yeo-jun said to President Yoon Seok-yeol, "Regardless of who Lee Jae-myung is, there must be respect for that position."
In an interview on the 26th with YTN Radio's 'News King Park Ji-hoon,' former Minister Yoon expressed this view regarding the fact that President Yoon has not met even once with Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, despite one year having passed since his inauguration.
He said, "From the perspective of President Yoon, who spent his entire career in the prosecution, (Leader Lee) might appear as a lawbreaker," and pointed out, "No matter how much he is the leader of the main opposition party, I guess he thought, 'Can I deal with a lawbreaker?' or 'Am I giving a pardon?' (However,) that is a mistaken thought."
He continued, "A crime is at the accusation stage, and nothing has been revealed yet. (Leader Lee) is, after all, a current member of the National Assembly and a representative elected by the people," adding, "Since he is the leader of the main opposition party, his position must be officially respected first. As the president of a true democratic republic, this should not be done," he emphasized.
Regarding the recent situation in the National Assembly, former Minister Yoon said, "The majority party unilaterally pushes through laws, and the government repeatedly exercises veto power," and criticized, "Even when the legislative and executive branches put their heads together and deliberate, difficult issues keep arising. How can the country be governed efficiently if they maintain an antagonistic relationship?"
He added, "From the executive branch's standpoint, they cannot help but exercise veto power because they absolutely cannot implement the laws pushed by the opposition party, but then what kind of parliamentary democracy is this?" and criticized, "The parliament is not functioning."
Former Minister Yoon said he "guesses that President Yoon is thinking about how to conduct the upcoming general election, what kind of political realignment to make, and how to create an efficient governance system," but expressed concern that "based on what has been revealed so far, the period during which the country is not governed efficiently is getting longer."
He added, "The president is currently not having dialogue with the opposition party, but the president must resolve this," emphasizing, "He is the highest responsible person for state affairs and the head of the executive branch, isn't he?"
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
