Second Ruling-Opposition-Government Policy Consultation Meeting Falls Through
Kwon: "Not Recognizing Acting President Choi Is an Impolite Attitude"
On Semiconductor and Pension Laws: "We Will Raise Public Awareness"
Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who did not attend the ruling-opposition-government policy consultation meeting on the 28th, saying, "Refusing to attend the policy consultation meeting, which discusses livelihood and economic issues, due to political problems not only disregards the purpose of establishing the policy consultation body but also shows that they are more engrossed in political strife than in people's livelihood."
On the same day, Kwon told reporters at the National Assembly, "Park floor leader refused to attend the consultation meeting because he was dissatisfied with the fact that Ma Eun-hyuk, a nominee for Constitutional Court justice, was not appointed by Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok," adding, "It is very regrettable and deplorable."
The Constitutional Court ruled the day before that Acting President Choi's failure to appoint nominee Ma was unconstitutional, as it infringed on the National Assembly's authority. However, Acting President Choi has still not appointed Ma. In response, Park notified his absence just before the policy consultation meeting.
Kwon said, "It is extremely arrogant and rude for a legislator of the legislative branch to force the acting president to appoint a Constitutional Court justice and to show an attitude of not recognizing the acting president," emphasizing, "The People Power Party will continue to strive to open the way for bipartisan cooperation for the sake of people's livelihood and the economy."
When a reporter asked, "The Democratic Party said they would attend the policy consultation body on the premise of appointing nominee Ma, so it seems difficult. How will you handle pension reform and the Semiconductor Special Act?" Kwon replied, "Many young people even demand the abolition of the National Pension itself. In discussions on pension reform, the opinions of the younger generation, who pay more and for longer periods, must be fully reflected," expressing his intention to push for the introduction of an automatic adjustment mechanism.
He continued, "Claims to excessively raise the income replacement rate solely for the benefit of the older generation, not the youth, are demands from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), and I believe the Democratic Party has proven itself to be a lackey of the KCTU," adding, "We will continue to raise public awareness to change the Democratic Party's stance and do our best."
Regarding the Semiconductor Special Act, which includes an exemption clause for the 52-hour workweek, he explained, "The Democratic Party's refusal to allow exceptions to the 52-hour workweek under the direction of the KCTU shows that they do not care about people's livelihood and only prioritize votes for elections," adding, "Other than continuously raising public awareness, there is no alternative for the minority People Power Party."
On the Democratic Party's proposal to amend the Income Tax Act targeting wage earners, he said, "In fact, the Democratic Party is the party that unilaterally raised income tax rates for high-income and middle-income earners," and "The government and ruling party raised the income tax exemption threshold for low-income earners and reduced taxes for those who previously paid income tax." However, he refrained from commenting further, saying, "Since there is no information on the direction of the Democratic Party's income tax amendment, we will express our position when the Democratic Party leadership's amendment proposal is released."
Regarding plans to reschedule the policy consultation meeting, he said, "I will discuss it with (Woo Won-sik) the Speaker of the National Assembly," and reiterated criticism, saying, "(The Democratic Party) should separate political strife and people's livelihood issues and deal with them accordingly. It is difficult to operate the ruling-opposition-government policy consultation body when they mix livelihood and political strife and abandon people's livelihood just because their wishes are not fulfilled."
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