President Lee Jae-myung met with ruling and opposition party leaders on the 16th and said, "The president is not the Democratic Party leader but is in a position to represent the entire people," adding, "I increasingly believe we must strive to reflect the public's diverse views as a whole." In particular, he asked for cooperation, saying, "On national security and foreign affairs, I ask the opposition, as much as possible, to join forces." However, he did not answer on exercising the right to request reconsideration (veto) of the opposition-led "second comprehensive (insurrection, Kim Keon-hee, fallen marine) special counsel," or on the demands for special counsels into the Unification Church's collusion with politics and money-for-nominations allegations involving ruling party politicians.
On this day, President Lee invited the ruling and opposition party leaders to Sangchunjae at Cheong Wa Dae for a luncheon. Party leaders and floor leaders from the Democratic Party, Rebuilding Korea Party, The Progressive Party, Basic Income Party, and The Social Democratic Party of Korea attended. Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok was on an overseas trip, so only floor leader Cheon Ha-ram attended, while People Power Party leaders boycotted, demanding a "summit meeting." Considering that progressive parties such as the Reform Party are often grouped as broadly pro-government, the Reform Party was the only opposition party to attend.
According to Cheong Wa Dae, President Lee said at the meeting, "I keenly felt that each country is waging an intense diplomatic contest for its national interest," adding, "At least in external relations, let's join forces among the ruling and opposition parties and the government for the national interest." Regarding the administrative district integration the government released that day, he said it is "a path we must take for Korea's future," and asked to "join forces to overcome the capital-area monocentric system."
At the luncheon, demands were raised including exercising the right to request reconsideration (veto) of the second comprehensive special counsel bill led by the Democratic Party, pushing for special counsels into the Unification Church and nomination donations, prosecution reform, and electoral system reform. In particular, floor leader Cheon Ha-ram, who attended after completing a 19-hour National Assembly filibuster (unlimited debate) in opposition to the "second comprehensive special counsel bill," said, "The president strongly rebuked the Unification Church's collusion with politics," and added, "Please look deeply so that, regardless of party, the Unification Church special counsel and the money-for-nominations special counsel (involving Democratic Party lawmakers) can proceed."
He said, "If the Yoon Suk-yeol administration had accepted the special counsels into the death of Sgt. Chae and into Kim Keon-hee, the tide of history would have changed dramatically," adding, "Even if those close to the president could become targets of investigation ahead of the local elections, if the president shows that 'a special counsel is truly a fair mechanism,' it would be an enormous achievement and progress in the history of South Korean politics."
However, Cheong Wa Dae said President Lee did not answer these demands. In a briefing, Cheong Wa Dae senior secretary for public affairs Lee Kyu-yeon said, "The president did not specifically mention prosecution reform or the second special counsel bill today," adding, "He mentioned uniting for the national interest and regional integration. Beyond that, he did not go into specifics and took the position of listening to the opposition's demands."