Yoon to Host Dinner with People Power Party Leadership Including Han Dong-hoon on 24th to Discuss Medical Reform (Comprehensive)

Checking Public Sentiment During Chuseok... Strengthening Communication with the Party

President Yoon Suk-yeol is shaking hands with People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, who came to see him off, as he departs from Seongnam Seoul Airport on the 19th for an official visit to the Czech Republic.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 24th, President Yoon Suk-yeol will invite Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the People Power Party, and other party leadership to Yongsan for a dinner meeting.

The Presidential Office stated on the 19th that this meeting will serve as a broad communication opportunity where the Presidential Office and party leadership gather in one place to assess public sentiment ahead of Chuseok, discuss reform tasks including medical reform, and address pressing livelihood issues.

From the party side, Representative Han, Floor Leader Choo Kyung-ho, Supreme Council members, and key party officials will attend the dinner meeting. From the Presidential Office, Chief Secretary Jeong Jin-seok, Policy Chief Seong Tae-yoon, Security Chief Shin Won-sik, and senior secretaries are expected to participate.

In particular, the meeting is expected to involve various discussions on the recently stalled 'Ruling Party-Opposition-Administration Consultative Body' formation as well as medical reform. While the medical community remains firm on the '2025 medical school quota adjustment,' Representative Han has expressed a view that the quota adjustment for next year could be included on the agenda. However, the Presidential Office and government maintain that since university entrance exams have already begun, proceeding with the adjustment could cause confusion among examinees and parents, making it practically unfeasible.

With the conflict between the government and the medical community unresolved, attention is focused on whether the meeting between President Yoon and the party leadership can serve as an opportunity to narrow differences over the medical school quota expansion. A Presidential Office official said, "Including this dinner meeting, we plan to strengthen communication with the party through various channels and continuously cooperate to resolve livelihood issues."

President Yoon had planned a dinner with Representative Han and the party leadership on the 30th of last month but postponed it until after the Chuseok holiday to respond to livelihood measures. The official meeting between President Yoon and Representative Han will be about two months since the dinner meeting inviting the party leadership to Yongsan on July 24, shortly after Han's election as party leader.