Opposition leader cancels meeting with president

A planned luncheon at the Blue House on Wednesday between President Lee Jae-myung, Democratic Party of Korea leader Jung Chung-rae and People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk was abruptly canceled. Jang informed the presidential office one hour before the meeting that he would not attend, protesting the ruling party’s unilateral passage of a judicial reform package.

The cancellation signaled a renewed hard-line standoff between the ruling and opposition parties. A special parliamentary committee tasked with advancing legislation to promote investment in the United States, aimed at preventing the reinstatement of tariffs on South Korea by U.S. President Donald Trump, also stalled that day.

At about 11 a.m., Jang announced he would withdraw from the luncheon with President Lee and the party leaders. At a subsequent news conference, he criticized the Democratic Party for pushing the judicial reform bills through the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee the previous day. The package includes measures such as permitting constitutional complaints against court rulings and increasing the number of Supreme Court justices. “I cannot accept a handshake offered with one hand while a knife is hidden behind the back with the other,” Jang said. It marked the first time a same-day meeting between a president and the leader of the main opposition party had been called off.

On Jan. 16, Jang rejected President Lee’s earlier invitation to a luncheon with party leaders and instead began a hunger strike, calling for a one-on-one meeting with the president. On Feb. 5, after meeting Hong Ik-pyo, the president’s senior secretary for political affairs, Jang reiterated his request, saying he hoped the president and the leader of the main opposition party could sit down together to broadly discuss state affairs. A luncheon with President Lee and party leaders was arranged the following day.

Jang’s sudden withdrawal from the meeting he had previously sought came amid mounting pressure within the People Power Party leadership to boycott the event. Party officials reportedly argued they could not appear to legitimize the Democratic Party’s handling of the judicial reform bills, particularly as tensions had emerged between the party and the presidential office during merger talks between the Democratic Party and the Rebuilding Korea Party.

However, during a general meeting of People Power Party lawmakers held ahead of the National Assembly plenary session, some lawmakers openly criticized Jang. According to participants, remarks included, “Why stage a hunger strike if you were not going to deliver the message directly to the president?” and “You should have confronted him in person and then walked out.”

However, during a general meeting of People Power Party lawmakers held ahead of the National Assembly plenary session, some lawmakers openly criticized Jang. According to participants, remarks included, “Why stage a hunger strike if you were not going to deliver the message directly to the president?” and “You should have confronted him in person and then walked out.”

Hong, the senior presidential secretary for political affairs, called the cancellation “deeply regrettable and inappropriate,” saying it was wrong to scrap a scheduled meeting with the president over developments at the National Assembly. Jung also criticized the decision, saying he was astonished by the People Power Party’s conduct, which shows not even the slightest respect for the public or the president. With Jang’s decision not to attend, the meeting between President Lee and Jung was also canceled.

The People Power Party then boycotted the National Assembly plenary session. As a result, 66 bills were passed with the Democratic Party leading the proceedings. A special committee on legislation to promote investment in the United States, chaired by a People Power Party lawmaker, also failed to convene normally at its first meeting. A People Power Party official said that if the judicial reform bills were forced through the plenary session, discussions on the special act on investment in the United States would also be suspended.


Hoon-Sang Park tigermask@donga.com