Leaders of PPP, DP meet, vow to discuss policy issues on regular basis

Politics

Published: 15 Mar. 2023, 18:39

Leaders of PPP, DP meet, vow to discuss policy issues on regular basis

Democratic Party Chairman Lee Jae-myung, left, shakes hands with the newly-elected chairman of the People Power Party, Kim Gi-hyeon, on Wednesday at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul. [YONHAP]

The leaders of Korea’s two most powerful political parties held a one-on-one meeting on Wednesday and promised to discuss policy issues on a rolling basis.

It was the first time that the chairmen of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s Power Power Party (PPP) and the Democratic Party (DP), Kim Gi-hyeon and Lee Jae-myung, met since Kim was chosen as the PPP’s chief on March 8.

As soon as he was elected, Kim said he would meet Lee, who’s been clashing with the Yoon administration for months over an ongoing investigation into corruption allegations against him.

Lee congratulated Kim on his election as the PPP chairman arrived at Lee’s office in the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, while Kim thanked Lee for the warm welcome.

In the nearly 30 minutes that the two leaders met, their aides said the atmosphere was cordial and the discussions focused on “cooperative politics.”

In opening remarks, which were revealed to the local press, Kim suggested the two leaders talk to each other “through various forms,” either on the record or off, or over a meal perhaps every other week.

Even if the PPP and DP are at loggerheads over some issues, Kim said the parties should quickly pass less contentious bills.

Lee responded that he was willing to cooperate anytime unless the policy or agenda item presented by the government or PPP was “regressive or wrong.”

“There are so many promises that the candidates of the ruling and opposition parties made together to the public during the presidential race,” said Lee, adding that both parties should create a joint task force aimed at putting those promises into law and enforcing them.

In last year’s presidential election, Lee lost to Yoon by the smallest margin in history. A few months later, Lee was elected as a lawmaker representing a district in Incheon, after which he became chairman of the DP.

Lee noted the severity of Korea’s economic situation, saying the DP and PPP should also form a “pan-national emergency economic consultation body” to discuss urgent issues pertaining to the economy and people’s livelihoods.

After their opening remarks, Kim and Lee talked behind closed doors.

Yoo Sang-bum, the chief spokesperson of the PPP, briefed reporters that both leaders discussed the controversial 69-hour work week and agreed that the Labor Ministry’s proposal needed adjustment.

Last week, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced a proposal to reform the 52-hour workweek system by giving more flexibility to companies in work hours, allowing them to extend the maximum work hours to 69 a week.

The current 52-hour workweek system, which was introduced in 2018 during the former Moon Jae-in administration, limits overtime work to 12 hours per week. At the time, some companies protested the move as being too restrictive and hindering business productivity.

The recent proposal immediately prompted a heated backlash from the younger generation, leading President Yoon on Tuesday to order his administration to review it while heeding opinions from the public.

After meeting with Lee, Kim told reporters that he didn’t agree with the 69-hour work cap and said the PPP and the government will decide after canvassing more opinions.

Kim then visited former conservative President Lee Myung-bak at his residence in Nonhyeon-dong, southern Seoul. Yoo, the PPP spokesperson, told reporters that former President Lee praised Yoon’s “bold decision” to normalize Seoul-Tokyo diplomatic relations by creating a foundation for Korean forced labor victims during Japan’s 1910-45 occupation of Korea.

BY KIM JUN-YOUNG, LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]