"People's Livelihoods Are Hanging by a Thread"
Mixed Reactions from Ruling and Opposition Parties at First Leaders' Meeting
Jo Guk, leader of the Jo Guk Innovation Party, criticized President Yoon Seok-yeol on the 29th for holding a summit meeting with Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, saying, "Did you meet Lee Jae-myung just to take pictures and post them on SNS?"
On the 29th, Jo said on Facebook, "The president must answer the people's questions. The opposition leader brought a questionnaire based on the people's questions confirmed in the general election," adding, "(However) President Yoon did not provide any answers. It's like submitting a blank answer sheet on the most important test." He said, "The livelihood crisis is serious. It's like a dam has burst and the water has risen to the brim," and added, "We must block the dam and drain the water."
He said that cooperation is the only solution to save people's livelihoods. "The ruling and opposition parties must put their heads together. Regardless of political issues, there is a need to focus on discussing this problem," he said. "I request Speaker Kim Jin-pyo to gather both ruling and opposition parties. Livelihood issues stand at a critical point where the National Assembly must immediately implement possible measures."
On the same day, President Yoon held a summit meeting with Lee for the first time since his inauguration. Before the private discussion, Lee read a speech of about 10 pages of A4 paper for 15 minutes, pouring out various current issues. The meeting, which started around 2 p.m., lasted 130 minutes and ended at 4:14 p.m. The ruling party highly evaluated it as "breaking the ice of dialogue," noting it was the first summit meeting in two years since the presidential election, but the opposition agreed that it was a first step in communication while expressing regret that they failed to narrow the policy gap.
Park Sung-jun, senior spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said at a briefing after the meeting, "I asked the leader about his thoughts on the summit meeting as he was leaving," and added, "He said, 'It was frustrating and disappointing. We should find meaning in opening the first chapter of communication.'"
Kang Mi-jung, spokesperson for the Jo Guk Innovation Party, commented, "I had some expectations, but the result was as expected," and criticized, "Even in today's meeting, (President Yoon) focused more on talking than listening, but the problem is that there was no substance."
There was also criticism directed at Lee. Choi Sung, senior spokesperson for the New Future Party, said to Lee, "By delivering a lengthy speech reminiscent of a policy address in the 10-page A4 opening remarks, you created an environment where productive outcomes were difficult to achieve," and added, "Before the summit meeting, urgent issues such as the medical crisis should have been focused on as the main agenda to reach at least a principled agreement with President Yoon. Failure to choose and focus resulted in a noisy meeting with an empty cart."
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