Kim Byungki: "President Lee Invites Ruling and Opposition Floor Leaders to Luncheon... Timing Undecided" (Comprehensive)

Kang Hoonshik and Woo Sangho Meet Kim Byungki at the National Assembly
Kim: "Luncheon Timing to Be Coordinated with the People Power Party"

Kim Byungki, acting leader and floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced, "President Lee Jaemyung has invited the floor leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties to a luncheon aimed at restoring bipartisan political cooperation."

On June 17, in front of the Democratic Party leader's meeting room at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Kim relayed President Lee's invitation to reporters after meeting with Kang Hoonshik, Chief Presidential Secretary, and Woo Sangho, Senior Presidential Secretary for Political Affairs. He added, "The timing is yet to be determined as it needs to be coordinated with the People Power Party."

Kim Hyunjung, the party's floor spokesperson, further explained, "Since President Lee's attendance at NATO is still undecided, if he does attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, the luncheon meeting will likely take place after that."

Senior Secretary Woo also asked Acting Leader Kim to expedite the processing of the supplementary budget bill. Regarding this, Floor Spokesperson Kim stated, "Since unofficial working-level discussions between the party and the government have already been taking place regarding the supplementary budget, these discussions will continue until the Cabinet meeting, but there are no plans for an official meeting to discuss it."

The proposed amendments to the Commercial Act, which remain a point of contention between the parties, were not discussed on this day. However, Floor Spokesperson Kim explained that the Democratic Party is preparing proposals such as expanding directors' fiduciary duty to shareholders, enabling electronic general meetings of shareholders, and broadening the 3% rule for cumulative voting in the election of auditors. He emphasized that these should be discussed once the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee is appointed, stating, "During this process, we will need to communicate within the party and also go through a process of consultation with the opposition."

Yonhap News Agency

Earlier, in their public opening remarks, Acting Leader Kim, Chief Secretary Kang, and Senior Secretary Woo emphasized the importance of close cooperation between the party and the government. Acting Leader Kim urged, "The Democratic Party is now the ruling party. When the ruling party, the government, and the presidential office work closely together, state affairs remain stable and the people feel hope."

He continued, "The Lee Jaemyung administration is the government that will end internal strife and restore the sovereignty of the people. Now is the time to fulfill the tasks of reviving livelihoods, rebuilding the economy, establishing fair order, and achieving national unity," stressing, "I hope today's meeting marks the beginning of such cooperation."

Chief Secretary Kang stated, "The significance of this floor leader election is that it is a mandate to work diligently with the President, with the government, and with the people." He emphasized, "The ruling party and the government must act as one. Our sense of unity is directly linked to not only the success of the government but also to the success of the Republic of Korea itself."

Meanwhile, regarding the regularization of floor leader meetings, which was discussed during a meeting between Acting Leader Kim and Song Eonseok, floor leader of the People Power Party, Floor Spokesperson Kim stated, "It has been agreed to hold regular meetings once a week," and added, "We are also open to communicating as needed."

As for Song's proposal to hand over the positions of chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts to the People Power Party, Floor Spokesperson Kim explained, "Since the deputy floor leader of the People Power Party has not yet been appointed, we only agreed in principle to hold discussions between the deputy floor leaders once the appointment is made."