[Anchor]
President Lee Jae-myung sought to lighten the mood and emphasized cooperation during the meeting, but the ruling and opposition leaders engaged in a tense exchange of words throughout their remarks.
Although the session lasted roughly two hours, the parties did not issue a joint statement.
Reporter Yoon Sol reports.
[Reporter]
President Lee, wearing a tie that blends blue and red, greeted leaders from both parties at the Blue House with a broad smile.
When photographers began taking pictures, the president broke the ice by urging the two party leaders—meeting face to face after some time—to shake hands.
President Lee Jae-myung: You two aren’t still refusing to shake hands these days, are you? Give it a try.
Once the meeting got under way, the two party leaders revealed clear differences on key issues, including the supplementary budget and proposed constitutional changes.
Jang Dong-hyeok / People Power Party leader: Frankly, I’m very concerned. If cash is distributed to 70% of the population, it could put upward pressure on prices and the exchange rate.
Jeong Cheong-rae / Democratic Party leader: Just as blood must circulate for the body to stay healthy, money needs to circulate. We need to ease the public’s financial burden now.
After Jang challenged Jeong’s opening remarks, President Lee postponed his own turn and gave Jang another opportunity to speak.
They even traded sharp jokes.
President Lee Jae-myung: Normally, objections should be limited to matters related to the main issue…
Jang Dong-hyeok / People Power Party leader: These days, trials don’t always proceed according to the law like they used to…
Jang scoffed at criticism over his property holdings, saying he struggled to sell four of his six homes, while Jeong pointedly noted that Jang had skipped a previous meeting in February but attended this one.
The Democratic Party said Jang requested a delay to a parliamentary investigation into allegations that prosecutors manufactured charges against Yoon Suk Yeol, but Jeong strongly opposed that request.
By contrast, the People Power Party said Jang asked President Lee to publicly pledge that he would not seek an immediate consecutive term or re-election before discussing constitutional revisions; the president declined to give an immediate answer, the party said.
A Blue House official forcefully denied the opposition’s account, saying the president made clear it would be impossible to amend and approve the currently announced constitutional revision proposal.
The meeting extended about two hours beyond its scheduled time. Disagreements over details—such as the Busan Global Hub City Special Act and a fuel tax cut—prevented the parties from reaching a joint agreement.
Lunch featured dishes intended to symbolize unity, including five-color seafood japchae and pumpkin-mixed tarakjuk.
This is Yoon Sol for Yonhap News TV.
[Video reporting: Il-hwan Lee, Je-hwan Yoon, Chang-hoon Jeong]
[Video editing: Seong-woong Ham]
[Graphics: Jeong-tae Lee, Eun-byeol Lee]
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Yoon Sol (solemio@yna.co.kr)
