Showdown or Stalemate: Han Dong-hoon and Lee Jae-myung Set to Meet, But Will Medical Reform Be Left on the Table

Last-minute working-level negotiations a day before the meeting… Medical reform excluded from agenda
“It’s not a bill or budget issue”… Are you aware of the conflict between the ruling and opposition parties?
Discussion is inevitable… “Government to calmly assess the situation”

[앵커]

The meeting between Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, and Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is just one day away.

The two parties finalized the agenda through last-minute working-level negotiations today, but the issue of health care reform was ultimately left out.

This is reporter Kim Da-yeon reporting.

[기자]

In the working-level negotiations that continued the day before the summit, the ruling and opposition parties finalized the agenda.

Although they decided to discuss ‘national development, people’s livelihood, and political reform’ in a broad sense, the issue of medical reform was left out.

The People Power Party’s official explanation is that it is not an appropriate agenda for a meeting because it is not a bill or budget issue, but some interpret it as a reluctance to make a public comment due to concerns about conflict with the Blue House.

However, since both parties plan to have open dialogue, it is expected that if the Democratic Party raises the issue first, related discussions will be inevitable.

The People Power Party also took a stance, saying that while medical reform must be completed, the government needs to take a cool-headed look at the situation.

[김혜란 / 국민의힘 대변인 : 정부의 냉정한 실태 파악과 융통성 있는 대책이 필요한 시점입니다. 국민의 지지를 잃으면 다 잃는 것입니다.]

In addition, the ‘financial investment income tax’ proposed by the ruling party, the ‘250,000 won support law’ promoted by the opposition party, and the ‘Cha Sang-byeong special prosecutor law’ are also expected to be on the discussion table.

In the case of the gold investment tax, the government and the ruling party are emphasizing its abolition, but there are still differences of opinion within the Democratic Party, so it is uncertain whether an agreement will be reached.

It is also of interest whether CEO Han Dong-hoon will maintain his position on the ‘Third Party Recommendation Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act’ that he proposed.

There is a lot of public opinion within the party opposing a special prosecutor’s investigation, saying that the investigation by the Senior Civil Servants’ Corruption Investigation Office should be watched first, and the Democratic Party is continuing to pressure by saying that it will directly propose a third-party special prosecutor’s bill in an attempt to split the ruling party.

[김한규 / 더불어민주당 의원 (어제, CBS 라디오 ‘박재홍의 한판승부’) : 국민의힘 내부에서 대표가 의사결정을 하고 오는 거를 다 수용을 하실 분위기인가, 그거를 잘 모르겠어요. 상당수 의원의 생각은 다르잖아요.]

Amid concerns that the ruling and opposition party leaders’ meeting, which is being held for the first time in 11 years, may end up being a mere show for the sake of negotiations, there are growing voices that at least some results must be achieved in terms of the people’s livelihoods.

This is YTN’s Kim Da-yeon.

Cameraman: Seungchang Lee
Video Editing: Yeon Jin-young

YTN Kim Da-yeon (kimdy0818@ytn.co.kr)

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