President Yoon Seok-yeol requested the National Assembly’s cooperation in the passage of an additional supplementary budget bill (additional budget bill) containing funds to compensate for the loss of COVID-19 in his first correctional speech since his inauguration on the 16th. Now, as the opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, has a majority of seats, it emphasized ‘cooperation’, ‘integration’, and ‘inter-party cooperation’. On the 17th, 8 of the 9 major comprehensive daily newspapers (morning) placed related articles on the front page of the headlines.
The Kyunghyang Shinmun article (citing the case of the British coalition cabinet in WWII and appealing for “cooperation to overcome the crisis”) said, “Unlike the inaugural speech, which lacked integration and cooperation with the legislative branch and the opposition, he emphasized ‘non-partisan cooperation’ and ‘parliamentaryism’ in the municipal administration speech.” said The explicit mention of pension, labor and education reforms, which are difficult to advance without persuasion from the opposition, was also noted as a notable point.
The JoongAng Ilbo filled pages 3, 4, and 5 with articles related to President Yoon’s municipal administration speech following the headline on the first page. The front page article (the three major reforms of pension, labor, and education, President Yoon “cross-party cooperation”) paid attention to President Yoon’s reference to the British coalition cabinet model during World War II. “British Conservatives and Labor Party formed a coalition cabinet in wartime and mobilized all the powers of the country to save the country from crisis. Although their political values are different, the partnership between Churchill and Atley, who were willing to join hands to overcome a common crisis, is needed more than ever.” The newspaper also pointed out that “the president’s explanation is that the British case was cited as a sign of a sense of crisis”, but “it would be too much to mention the wartime cabinet” and “I wish there had been more content about self-innovation”.
Several newspapers commonly dealt with the point that President Yoon, who ordered cooperation, was forcing a personnel appointment. The Hankyoreh article (‘Yun’s cooperation’ separate execution? Separately? Han Dong-hoon and Yoon Jae-soon’s decision to withdraw appointments) said, “As it became clear that the president did not intend to cut down on the appointment of Han Dong-hoon and Yoon Jae-soon, secretary for general affairs, tensions between the ruling and opposition parties increased. “The president’s office said that President Yoon had no intention of hiring and taking action against Yoon Jae-soon, secretary of the general affairs office,” he said. Regarding the candidacy of Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, “Forcing the appointment could lead to the rejection of Prime Minister Han Deok-soo’s approval. However, the Democratic Party is conscious of the glare of ‘holding the opposition’s ankles’ ahead of the local elections, and it is an atmosphere in which the withdrawal of the appointment of Candidate Jeong Ho-young is a marginal line.”
The Kookmin Ilbo editorial (President Yoon, who emphasized bipartisan cooperation, must reach out his hand first) said, “We need to review whether the idea that the composition of the cabinet and the appointment of the presidential office are the powers of the new government, so it must be passed 100% of the original bill is correct.” Bold concessions on the current issue and actively seeking cooperation from the opposition is the best solution to resolve severe conflicts and achieve national unity.” The Seoul Shimbun editorial (尹, I hope that the personnel controversy will be sorted out soon for the cooperation of the opposition) also emphasized, “It is time for President Yoon himself to open the door to cooperation.”
In the case of the Hankook Ilbo editorial (President 尹 who reached out a hand, can’t stop with words), he said, “In addition to the personnel issue, the same is true with the case of the Democratic Party reporting President Yoon to the National Election Commission on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act on this day. The Democratic Party’s precipitation made the political situation even more frozen, but President Yoon also called Kang Yong-seok, an independent Gyeonggi governor candidate, and made a convincing explanation for the allegation that he intervened in the election.”
June 1 local elections raising concerns such as ‘no-vote election’
Concerns persist over the June 1 local elections, such as ‘no-vote election’ and ‘lowest competition rate’. An article in the Kyunghyang Shinmun (‘No-vote election’ … Yeongho-nam lost the chance to choose) said, “There are concerns that ‘local political monopoly’ is getting worse because there are many people elected without voting in Honam and Yeongnam, where certain parties have strong influence.” “All candidates 7618 It was counted as ‘no vote’, with 494 of those who did not vote.” The Public Official Election Act stipulates that if there is only one candidate in a constituency from which one person is to be elected, or the candidate does not exceed the number of members in the constituency of a local assembly, the election shall not be held and the candidate shall be determined as the elected person on Election Day.
Regarding the election for the superintendent of education, the Dong-A Ilbo conducted a related opinion poll, saying, “In the election for superintendent of education, more than 60% of the respondents said they had not yet selected a candidate in all three metropolitan areas.” A survey of 803, 809, and 800 adults residing each, 20% wired and 80% wireless, telephone interview, sampling error is high in Seoul and Incheon 95% confidence level ±3.5%p, Gyeonggi 95% confidence level ±3.4%p) told
The Dong-A Ilbo editorial (‘lowest competition rate’, ‘heavy no-vote election’…Is the local election as good as it is?) said, “On June 1st, the average competition rate for the local election was 1.8 to 1, recording the lowest ever. It replaced the 2.3 to 1 in 2014, which was the lowest so far.” He said, “The reality is that as the local elections are actually held as an overtime for the 3rd and 9th presidential elections, competition centered on the two major parties is repeating itself. There is no room for young politicians who do not belong to large political parties to get in. It would be difficult if local elections were fixed in this way. “Even after the election, we need to actively discuss ways to improve such as abolition of the party nomination system for basic members or expansion of the major constituency system,” he ordered.
The Hankyoreh pointed out the limitations of the current law, which makes it difficult for local political parties to grow. Since 1962, right after the 5/16 military uprising, the party law that recognizes a ‘party’ as a ‘party’ has been hardened by having city and provincial parties in 5 or more metropolitan governments, including Seoul, and each having at least 1,000 party members. it cannot”. The article is titled ‘The voice of local party acceptance is growing, but the ‘Park Chung-hee Party Act’ is an anklet 60 years ago.
Rally and protest in front of Yongsan presidential office, newspaper highlighting ‘citizen’s dissatisfaction’
As the presidential office relocated from the Blue House in Gwanghwamun, Seoul to Yongsan, the center of rallies and protests is also moving to the Yongsan area. On that day, the Segye Daily article (protesters who went to Yongsan following the president…citizens were ‘bubbling’) said, “The protests and rallies that were concentrated near Gwanghwamun in the past are moving to Yongsan, and traffic is being controlled, causing inconvenience due to noise and traffic jams.” The demonstration on the 16th of the National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Jeonjangyeon) was cited as a representative case. Along with the complaints from residents near Yongsan, the article said, “The representative council of residents in seven complexes around Yongsan Station will receive a petition from the residents to complain about the violation of the living environment due to the assembly and will submit it to the Yongsan Police Station and Yongsan-gu Office.” The assembly and demonstration were viewed only from the perspective of ‘citizen discomfort’.
Currently, in front of the Yongsan office, the police and other policies to ban assemblies and demonstrations are causing controversy. The Seoul Administrative Court allowed the assembly on the 11th with the purpose of ‘the office and the official residence are separate’ in response to the application for suspension of the assembly ban against the police by the ‘Rainbow Action Against Sexual Minority Discrimination’, but the police are expected to continue the ban on assemblies. The People’s Power, the ruling party, has proposed a bill to amend the Assembly and Demonstration Act to include the President’s Office as a place where protests are prohibited within 100 meters.
The Hankook Ilbo editorial (controversial assembly in front of Yongsan Oval Office, need to set reasonable standards) said, “The policy of banning assemblies and demonstrations in front of the President’s office is inconsistent with strengthening communication with citizens, which is the reason why the Yun Seok-yeol administration decided to relocate the Blue House. In a recent opinion poll by the Korea Institute of Social Opinion, 53.4% of the respondents supported the court decision that allowed the rainbow action assembly. Alternative discussions will be possible. “I look forward to a mature discussion that can satisfy the constitutional value of freedom of assembly while protecting the safety of the President,” he urged.
