President Yoon Seok-yeol and Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myeong (left) sit opposite each other in the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, on April 29. /Newsis
The President’s Office denied media reports that at the first bilateral meeting between President Yoon Seok-yeol and Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung on the 29th of last month, Ham Seong-deuk, dean of the Graduate School in political science from Kyonggi University, and Professor Emeritus Lim Hyuk-baek of Korea University served as the “unofficial special envoy” for both sides and coordinated the meeting behind the scenes.
A senior official from the Presidential Office said on the 7th: “There have been many indications for a long time that President Yoon should meet with Representative Lee. “There have been articles in the media and many proposals have been put forward by both the ruling and opposition parties,” he said. “The president himself decided (to hold a meeting) and called Representative Lee. “So far almost nothing had been accomplished because the president had made a direct phone call,” he said. At the same time, he said, “(The coordination of the talks) was carried out through the official line” and “There was no grand special envoy or backroom line or anything like that.”
The Hankook Ilbo reported on the “backroom meeting” process, stating that Director Ham and Professor Lim had acted as messengers for President Yoon and Representative Lee respectively, and had coordinated the conversations behind the scenes. President Yoon granted the opposition party the right to recommend personnel for the prime minister and made comments such as, “Didn’t the investigation into Rep. Lee begin with the Moon Jae-in administration?” and “We will exclude from selection.” of the Presidential Office anyone who might be a competitor to Representative Lee (in the next presidential election).” The President’s Office denied the report, saying: “The current situation has not changed from President Yoon’s current position that it will take time to select the next prime minister.”
There was a response from the political world, saying: “This is the first time I see messengers who are said to have coordinated negotiations behind the scenes while unofficial special envoys first address the media and promote themselves.” Previously, last February, Director Ham published a book titled “President in Crisis” and issued a press release stating that “Attorney General Yoon Seok-yeol met with President Moon Jae-in alone and dissuaded Cho Kuk since his appointment as Minister of Justice”. Director Ham is said to have had an affair with President Yoon, having lived with him in an apartment in Seocho-dong, Seoul, where she lived while he was a prosecutor. Lawyer Shinpyeong, who once claimed to be President Yoon’s mentor, also said in a radio interview that he played a bridging role for this meeting.
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