In Response to Ruling Party's Request to Postpone Government Negotiations... Opposition's Jin Seong-jun Says "Stop Playing Hard to Get and Come Out"

Ruling and Opposition Parties Clash Over Next Week's National Policy Consultation
Concerns Grow Over Stalled Discussions on Semiconductor Special Act and Supplementary Budget

Jin Seong-jun, Policy Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at a policy issue press briefing held at the National Assembly on the 6th. Photo by Yonhap News

The People Power Party stated that the four-party meeting of the ruling and opposition parties and the government scheduled for early next week should be postponed, to which Jin Seong-jun, the Policy Committee Chair of the Democratic Party of Korea, urged, "Stop obstructing unnecessarily and immediately participate in the national policy consultation meeting."

In a statement released that afternoon, Policy Chair Jin said, "The only agreement from the February 4 working-level meeting was to hold a national policy consultation meeting on February 10-11 with Woo Won-shik, Speaker of the National Assembly; Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party; Kwon Young-se, Emergency Response Committee Chair of the People Power Party; and Choi Sang-mok, Acting Deputy Prime Minister for Economy," emphasizing this point.

Policy Chair Jin added, "Although there was no final agreement on major national issues such as the supplementary budget and the Semiconductor Special Act at that time, it was decided to hold the national policy consultation meeting to reach an agreement nonetheless," stressing, "The intention was to seek consensus through leadership discussions."

He continued, "However, the People Power Party's sudden demand to postpone the main meeting is an incomprehensible act," and said, "While the People Power Party's strategy to link the discussion of the supplementary budget after handling the Semiconductor Special Act is unacceptable, their recent attitude of further linking the supplementary budget to the establishment of a pension reform special committee is even more unreasonable."

Policy Chair Jin stated, "The Democratic Party has maintained the position that the supplementary budget and the Semiconductor Special Act, which are future industry legislations, cannot be linked and that both must be urgently processed," adding, "We have also consistently expressed the position to continue discussions on unresolved detailed issues related to the Semiconductor Special Act but to prioritize legislation based on agreed matters."

He also said, "Regarding pension reform, the basic reform should be handled first by the Health and Welfare Committee in the National Assembly, and structural reform should be discussed through the establishment of a pension reform special committee," concluding, "We urge immediate participation in the national policy consultation meeting."

Earlier, Kim Sang-hoon, Policy Committee Chair of the People Power Party, stated at a party strategy meeting held at the National Assembly that the Democratic Party is trying to unilaterally push forward the Semiconductor Special Act and pension reform, and therefore the national policy consultation meeting should be postponed.

Policy Chair Kim pointed out, "As labor opposition intensified, it seems that Leader Lee Jae-myung has reversed his previous stance of including an exemption clause for the 52-hour workweek in the Semiconductor Special Act," and criticized, "Leader Lee's statement that 'corporate competitiveness is national competitiveness' has ultimately been proven false."

Regarding the pension reform issue, he also criticized, "Despite expressing willingness to concede the chairmanship of the National Assembly's Pension Special Committee to the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party remains adamant about forcibly processing the basic reform in the Welfare Committee."