Yoon-Lee Summit to Be Held at Presidential Office on 29th... "Hope It Becomes an Opportunity to Resolve National Issues" (Comprehensive)

Afternoon 2 PM Chat Meeting... Conversation Without Agenda
"Livelihood Issues Are the Most Important"

Hong Cheol-ho, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Presidential Office, is briefing on the summit meeting between President Yoon Seok-yeol and Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul on the 26th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, will hold their first bilateral meeting at 2 p.m. on the 29th at the Yongsan Presidential Office. Although both sides engaged in a protracted tug-of-war over agenda coordination, they reached a sudden agreement to have a broad conversation about public livelihood without any special restrictions.

Hong Cheol-ho, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs, held a briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the 26th regarding the summit meeting, stating, "Following President Yoon's wish to hear a lot from Leader Lee and Leader Lee's intention to meet promptly regardless of agenda agreement, it was agreed to hold a casual meeting," adding, "We hope this frank dialogue between the president and the opposition leader will serve as an opportunity to resolve national issues."

Earlier that morning, Senior Secretary Hong held the third working-level meeting with Cheon Jun-ho, Chief of Staff to the Democratic Party leader, to coordinate the summit schedule.

Senior Secretary Hong said, "Each side will have three attendees, but the specific attendees will be decided separately by each side," and added, "The meeting will be held in a casual format." He further explained, "Since the schedule could not be delayed indefinitely, the earliest date was chosen," and "Considering both leaders' view that having lunch or not is not important, it was decided to hold it as a casual meeting."

The meeting could last long without time restrictions

At the casual meeting, three people from the Presidential Office?Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok, Senior Secretary Hong, and Senior Secretary for Public Relations Lee Do-woon?will attend, while the Democratic Party will be represented by Chief of Staff Cheon, Policy Committee Chair Jin Seong-jun, and Spokesperson Park Seong-jun.

When asked about the private meeting time between President Yoon and Leader Lee, Senior Secretary Hong replied, "I understand that the two will decide," and said, "If they feel naturally that more time is needed during their conversation, I think they will proceed accordingly." The meeting is expected to last about an hour but could be extended depending on the flow of the dialogue. Senior Secretary Hong said, "The meeting time is initially set for one hour, but if their conversation extends without time restrictions, it will continue," and added, "Since drafting a joint statement takes time, each side?the Yongsan Office and the Democratic Party?will announce separately."

Additionally, Senior Secretary Hong conveyed, "After receiving the report on the working-level meeting, President Yoon said, '(Leader Lee) accepted the invitation, so prepare well and take good care of him.'"

Regarding whether preparations are underway for cooperation on prime minister appointments or key national tasks at the summit, Senior Secretary Hong said, "The most important thing is public livelihood," and responded, "President Yoon is trying to find momentum through the meeting with Leader Lee on issues of national interest."

Cheon Jun-ho, Chief Secretary to the Party Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is announcing the schedule for the bilateral meeting between President Yoon Seok-yeol and Leader Lee Jae-myung at the National Assembly on the 26th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Chief of Staff Cheon Jun-ho also told reporters at the National Assembly that afternoon, "We expect the meeting to be one where the public sentiment expressed in the general election is conveyed to President Yoon without distortion, and efforts are made to restore public livelihood and shift the national policy direction." Regarding the decision to hold the meeting in a 'casual format' rather than over lunch or dinner, he explained, "On the contrary, we judged that a casual meeting would be more advantageous for freely exchanging views."

Chief of Staff Cheon also responded to a question asking, "Wouldn't it be a burden for both sides if they meet without setting an agenda and fail to produce results?" by saying, "We proposed several important agenda items multiple times and requested the Presidential Office's review, but they did not provide any opinions," and added, "Rather than delaying the meeting over such issues, Leader Lee decided it would be better to meet urgently and discuss because public livelihood is difficult and urgent."

By not setting a specific agenda, there is also a possibility that the Democratic Party will raise sensitive issues such as the 'Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act' at the meeting. When asked if the Kim Geon-hee special prosecutor is also a topic of discussion, Chief of Staff Cheon said, "We have neither proposed specific agenda items nor said anything should not be discussed," and added, "The Democratic Party mentioned it during the working-level negotiations." In addition, the Democratic Party plans to bring all previously emphasized agenda items to the table, including a special prosecutor investigation into allegations of external pressure in the Marine Corps personnel death case and the supplementary budget for the 'Public Livelihood Recovery Fund' to provide 250,000 won per person nationwide.