Normalize the legislature before it’s too late

Editorials

Normalize the legislature before it’s too late

Published: 19 Aug. 2024, 20:17 Updated: 20 Aug. 2024, 11:53

People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon and majority opposition Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung agreed to hold their first meeting in the National Assembly next Sunday. After Han proposed an open-minded meeting as early as possible, Lee ordered his aides to fix agendas to be discussed in the meeting, including finding ways to improve people’s tough livelihood. We welcome the development four months after the last parliamentary elections in April, which ended with the DP’s landslide victory.

But what really matters is the two leaders’ sincerity. In his acceptance speech on Sunday after winning the election for the new leadership, Lee presented three issues to be discuss in the meeting — a special motion to investigate the tragic death of a Marine last year, a bill to hand out cash to people to help them and a bill to restore the district office system for elections. But Han prioritized a discussion on scrapping the financial investment income tax. Most of those issues are complicated ones due to sharp disagreements between the two parties and within each party.

But such remarks from party leaders must not serve as obstacles to the process of coordinating agendas for the meeting. With less than three weeks left before the Chuseok holiday, the unprecedented summer heat waves and soaring prices, including housing prices, are pushing the working class into the corner. The two leaders must find a way to alleviate people’s economic pain.

Since the launch of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration in 2022, the leaders of the two parties haven’t met except for the meeting held shortly after the legislative election. As a result, political circles have been engrossed in fierce battles without political leadership. We hope the upcoming meeting will end the vicious cycle.

Given the gravity of our security and economic situation, both parties must take a practical approach to resolve their differences starting with easy issues. We hope the two leaders reach consensus on extending the so-called K-chips Act, designating the sites for high-level radioactive waste disposal and expanding parental leave for child care.

Concerns are deepening about the new DP leadership’s dramatic turn to hard lines to curry favor with Lee. The re-elected DP leader must prove his ability to command a political party that can take power in the next presidential election. But first, Lee must help put the legislature back on track by ending the DP’s dark history of submitting special motions to investigate or impeach whoever the party dislikes. Han also must accept Lee as a partner for governance and cooperate with him.