On the 12th, People Power Party leader Jang Donghyuk hinted at the possibility of boycotting a luncheon meeting between President Lee Jaemyung and the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties. Jang said, "Several Supreme Council members have asked me to reconsider (whether I should attend the meeting between the president and the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties)," adding, "I will discuss it again with the party leadership and then decide whether to attend."
At a Supreme Council meeting held that morning, Jang said, "If I go to today's luncheon meeting, they will try to fill today's news with stories like what side dishes (the presidential office) served for the sake of cooperation and what kinds of grains they mixed into the rice. They will try to cover everything with a photo of the president and the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties shaking hands, in order to drown out the sound of the judicial system collapsing," indicating his concerns.
In his initial opening remarks, Jang had announced that he had accepted the proposal for a meeting between the president and the ruling and opposition parties, saying, "I will convey the public sentiment to the president as vividly as possible." However, Supreme Council members asked Jang to reconsider, taking issue with the fact that the ruling party had railroaded bills such as the Constitutional Complaint Act and the bill to increase the number of Supreme Court justices at the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee the previous day.
Supreme Council member Shin Dongwook said, "Leader Jang must by no means play a supporting role in (the presidential office's) staged performance," while Supreme Council member Kim Minsu said, "They scheduled the luncheon meeting in order to quietly cover up the passage of such an outrageous bill," and "I earnestly advise Leader Jang not to attend the luncheon meeting."
As calls from Supreme Council members for reconsideration continued, Jang hinted at the possibility of a boycott at the end of the public meeting. He said, "I was fully aware that this (proposal for a meeting between the ruling and opposition parties) is like a couple having a fight and then calling in the neighbor next door (the People Power Party) to reconcile. Even so, I agreed to the luncheon meeting with the intention of conveying the voices of people's livelihoods," adding, "However, after that, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee once again committed an act that completely destroys the judicial system of the Republic of Korea, and at the Public Administration and Security Committee, the special act on administrative integration was unilaterally passed without reflecting the opinions of the opposition party."
Jang said, "At the first meeting last year, the president told the ruling party leader that cooperation is only possible if the side that has more makes concessions, but the next day the ruling party leader mentioned the dissolution of an insurrectionist party more than a dozen times. It is always like this," adding, "They proposed yesterday's luncheon meeting, and then, overnight, they calmly and nonchalantly passed a bill that destroys the judicial system."
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