Exclusive Meeting Between President Lee and Jang Donghyuk Set for September 8
"Comprehensive Critique on Livelihood Issues and Opposition Suppression"
Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, stated ahead of his exclusive meeting with President Lee Jaemyung on September 8, "I want to strongly emphasize that it is the President who can open the door to bipartisan cooperation."
On September 5, after meeting with Joseph Yun, Acting U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, Jang told reporters, "There are several national policy issues President Lee pledged to address that could be resolved through dialogue between the ruling and opposition parties, but the situation is deadlocked due to issues such as the special prosecutor bill."
The presidential office announced that on September 8, President Lee will have a luncheon meeting with Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Jang, at the Yongsan presidential office, followed by a one-on-one exclusive meeting with Jang.
Jang criticized, "The Democratic Party is more focused on extending the special prosecutor law or establishing a special prosecutor court, targeting next year's local elections, rather than addressing livelihood issues. It is impossible not to point out these problems comprehensively."
Livelihood issues are also expected to be brought to the table. Jang said, "There are still various instabilities due to tariff negotiations, and the economy remains unstable because of the Yellow Envelope Act and even stricter commercial laws. As seen during Victory Day, security is under serious threat, and I intend to raise these concerns."
Meanwhile, on the same day, Jang met with Acting Ambassador Yun and said, "I hope that various circumstances concerning the business community, such as the Yellow Envelope Act, do not negatively impact Korea-U.S. relations. More efforts are needed to create a freer business environment between Korea and the United States."
Jang added, "Despite the Korea-U.S. summit, there were no tangible outcomes such as a joint statement. Although these are measures to foster a more advanced cooperative relationship between Korea and the United States, the economic impact of the agreed content is significant, so the public has many questions about the specifics."
He also mentioned the closer ties among North Korea, China, and Russia in connection with China's Victory Day. Jang expressed concern, saying, "There are worries that the Indo-Pacific strategy has been weakened since President Lee took office. I hope Korea and the United States will respond firmly to the North Korea-China-Russia threat and further strengthen their relationship in defense and security."
Regarding the operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on September 4 (local time) at the Hyundai Motor Group-LG Energy Solution joint battery plant construction site in Georgia, where undocumented immigrants were apprehended, Jang urged, "I hope attention is paid to ensure that local Koreans are not unfairly denied legal protection."
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