Yoon-Lee, 5-Minute Call from 3:30 PM
Lee Jae-myung "Thankful... Will Help President's Work"
President Yoon Suk-yeol proposed to meet with Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, in Yongsan next week on the 19th.
At 3:30 p.m. that day, President Yoon had a phone call with Lee, congratulating him on his election as a member of the National Assembly and also congratulating the Democratic Party candidates on their election victories. This was reported by Lee Do-woon, the presidential office’s chief public relations officer, during a briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office. The presidential office explained that the call lasted about five minutes.
President Yoon suggested meeting in Yongsan next week if circumstances permit, saying, "Let's start communication by meeting first, and then meet frequently to have tea, meals, and phone calls to discuss state affairs," according to the chief public relations officer.
Lee expressed gratitude for the invitation and said, "I appreciate President Yoon’s willingness," adding, "I want to be of help in what President Yoon is doing," the chief public relations officer introduced.
The presidential office and President Yoon had so far effectively declined the summit meetings proposed by Lee, saying that the term "summit meeting" was used when the president was the head of the ruling party, and that they were willing to meet in a setting where leaders of both ruling and opposition parties attend.
However, as the ruling People Power Party suffered a crushing defeat in the April 10 general election, the presidential office and government have found it necessary to cooperate with the Democratic Party of Korea, the largest opposition party and the first party in the National Assembly, for state administration. It is judged that President Yoon made this decision accordingly.
This call was made after Lee Kwan-seop, chief of the Presidential Secretariat, proposed it around 1 p.m. that day to Cheon Jun-ho, a Democratic Party lawmaker and Lee’s chief of staff. The time of the future meeting, agenda, and attendees will be arranged through consultations between the secretariats of both sides.
A presidential office official explained the reason why the meeting is scheduled earlier than the opening of the 22nd National Assembly, saying, "Actually, if the personnel appointments (in the presidential office and prime minister’s office) had been made a little earlier, the call and meeting would have happened sooner. But we cannot delay indefinitely due to personnel matters. We explained these circumstances to Lee," the official said.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
