Democratic-Justice Party Floor Leaders 2+2 Meeting
Discussion on Japan's Contaminated Water Discharge Prevention Facilities and Financial Support Issues
The Democratic Party of Korea and the Justice Party agreed on the 3rd to strengthen cooperation on current issues, including the push for an additional supplementary budget (추가경정예산안) to support people’s livelihoods, response to the contaminated water from Fukushima, Japan, and the amendment of the Yellow Envelope Act (Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act). Having collaborated on the fast-tracking designation of the Itaewon Disaster Special Act and the submission of the Yellow Envelope Act to the plenary session, the two parties showed efforts to further strengthen opposition unity through enhanced communication between their floor leaderships.
Park Kwang-on, floor leader of the Democratic Party, Jeong Chun-sook, chief deputy floor leader, Bae Jin-gyo, floor leader of the Justice Party, and Lee Eun-joo, chief deputy floor leader, met at the National Assembly for a 2+2 meeting on the day. After the meeting, Chief Deputy Floor Leader Jeong said, "We discussed whether the previously reduced tax cuts should be restored in relation to the supplementary budget," adding, "Since the situation regarding people’s livelihoods is very difficult, there was a statement that the government should fulfill its national responsibility by implementing the supplementary budget." Earlier, the Democratic Party proposed a supplementary budget of about 35 trillion won, while the Justice Party proposed about 10 trillion won.
Regarding the specific scale of the supplementary budget, Chief Deputy Floor Leader Lee introduced, "We agreed that the two parties’ policy committees will discuss and proceed with it from a policy perspective." Jeong also said, "The specific supplementary budget amount is being finalized in the standing committees, and it could be larger than what the Justice Party initially considered."
Although the meeting was held under the pretext of formulating the supplementary budget, it also carried the meaning of strengthening cooperation between the two parties. Floor Leader Park said, "We designated the Itaewon Disaster Special Act as a fast-track bill, but we need to discuss ways to expedite the process if possible. We have submitted legislation on union activities for legal labor unions that must be voted on, and there are many pressing issues directly related to the lives of the people, such as the Broadcasting Act and electoral system reform discussions. The Democratic Party will actively cooperate with the Justice Party to respond to the demands of the people on these matters." Floor Leader Bae also said, "When the new leadership was appointed, there was a lot of talk about politics being missing, so I expressed the opinion that the National Assembly should cooperate and show productive results to the people. This meeting was arranged as part of that effort," adding, "I hope we meet frequently starting from today."
Meanwhile, Floor Leader Bae addressed the issue of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, saying, "The Democratic Party and the Justice Party ultimately need to answer the question of what the alternative to nuclear contaminated water discharge is," and added, "As proposed by our party leader Lee Jeong-mi, let’s jointly pursue the option of treating the nuclear contaminated water on land using a ‘Peace and Safety Tank.’" He introduced that Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, mentioned financial support for Japan in his representative speech at the National Assembly, and said, "The cost of installing the Peace and Safety Tank is estimated at about 400 to 500 billion won over 30 years, and since the international community can sufficiently provide financial support, I hope we actively discuss such alternatives."
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