The chairs of the policy committees from both parties held their first meeting at the National Assembly on the 7th and began discussions for cooperation on livelihood legislation. Jin Sung-jun, chair of the Democratic Party of Korea's policy committee, suggested prioritizing the 80 pledges jointly proposed by both parties during the 21st presidential election as legislative tasks for livelihood, and Kim Jeong-jae, chair of the People Power Party's policy committee, promised to initiate discussions among the working-level staff, saying, "There are no separate parties in front of people's livelihood."
At 10:40 a.m. that day, the meeting held in the Democratic Party's leadership office was attended by Jin Sung-jun, chair of the policy committee, Lee Jeong-moon, senior vice chair of the policy committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, Kim Jeong-jae, chair of the policy committee from the People Power Party, and Kim Eun-hye, senior spokesperson of the policy committee and senior vice chair.
Chair Jin noted, "There were about 200 common pledges proposed by both parties during the last presidential election, and after filtering the issues that require legislation, it amounts to 80," and stated, "The Presidential Committee on Policy Planning also suggested reflecting the common pledges in the national agenda."
Common pledges from both parties include the establishment of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, alleviating financial burdens for small business owners, creating innovation ecosystems for advanced strategic industries such as secondary batteries, nurturing the venture capital market, and improving service conditions for military personnel.
He suggested, "If the National Assembly prioritizes legislation accordingly, it would be a great comfort to the people," proposing "Policy Consultation Season 2." Both parties previously pushed for common pledges immediately after the 22nd general election, and this time, the goal is to swiftly promote livelihood-related bills without any issues between the parties to restore bipartisan cooperation.
Chair Jin stated, "There were significant differences of opinion on the Commercial Code amendment, and I thought negotiations would be the most challenging, but it was processed," adding, "Given that, I think the conditions for understanding each other's positions have matured. I will approach policy discussions with empathy."
Chair Kim expressed, "Thank you for the warm welcome," noting, "There are no separate parties in front of people's livelihood. I hope this is not just a courtesy but a starting point for both parties to genuinely restore policy consultations."
However, Chair Kim mentioned, "There are controversial bills with divergent opinions. I hope that we can find reasonable alternatives for the Yellow Envelope Law, the Grain Management Act, and the four agricultural bills, as well as the three broadcasting laws, even if it takes some time for the parties to collaborate on them."
After the meeting, Chair Kim told reporters that they agreed to promote common pledges from the last presidential election together and decided to start discussions among the working-level staff soon.
He continued, "There are media reports suggesting that the Democratic Party intends to pass bills with significant disagreements unilaterally by July," stating, "I clearly conveyed the position that such a push is absolutely unacceptable." He emphasized, "Chair Jin also responded, 'Let's discuss such bills in the relevant committees going forward.'"
Chair Kim also raised his voice, saying, "Unilateral processing of bills would not help the Democratic Party or President Lee Jae-myung at all. The public will impose consequences for one-sidedness," emphasizing that there needs to be a proper process of collaboration between the parties.
Regarding the push for regular meetings between the chairs of the policy committees, he explained, "We wanted to meet regularly, but we couldn't set a date since we do not know how the direction of the policy committee chairs will be after the Democratic Party's leadership election," adding, "Rather than regularly, we intend to meet often."