Lee hosts ruling and opposition party leadership for lunch, just 18 days into presidency
President Lee Jae Myung held a lunch meeting with a bipartisan delegation Sunday at his official residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, to discuss the government's recent stimulus proposal and his visit to Canada to attend the G7 summit last week.
There, Lee stressed a need to narrow down differences between rival parties.
"Many world leaders (I met during the G7 summit) had a significant amount of interest in South Korea's present and future, so I thought we could conciliate with each other over the external issues," Lee said.
"I thought we should review the economic situation of South Korea and the issues of national security and diplomacy that lay the foundation for South Korea's economy. Especially, we should work on the extra budget bill, and it is natural to have different opinions," he continued.
Bowls of colorful noodles were served at lunch, according to the presidential office. The meeting marked the start of "candid conversation" between the president and leaders of rival parties, Woo Sang-ho, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, said in a briefing on Sunday
Present at the meeting were Rep. Kim Byung-kee, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea; Rep. Kim Yong-tae, interim leader of the main opposition People Power Party and People Power Party Whip Rep. Song Eon-seog. The ruling party chair position has yet to be filled.
The primary focus of the meeting was the 30.5 trillion won ($22.2 billion) supplementary budget that is set to be tabled at the National Assembly on Monday.
Among the extra budget is a 15.2 trillion-won stimulus plan, largely designed to shore up consumption by doling out 13 trillion won worth of cash-equivalent coupons to all South Korean citizens. Each individual will receive coupons worth at least 150,000 won.
Additionally, 5 trillion won was allocated in the supplementary budget for small businesses and economically marginalized groups. The plan includes a 1.4 trillion won scheme to write off debts of small business owners -- up to 50 million won per individual -- that have been overdue for seven years or more.
The liberal government's budget proposal gained Cabinet approval Thursday.
At the meeting, People Power Party's interim leader Kim told Lee that he was wary of expansionary fiscal policy because it could lead to inflation. Kim also said Lee's debt write-off plan could prompt people's unwillingness to resolve delinquency.
The ruling liberal party has the legislative power to single-handedly pass the budget bill, as it requires at least half of the votes by National Assembly lawmakers present at the session. The parliament is currently led by the ruling Democratic Party, which occupies 167 seats out of the 298. The conservative main opposition People Power Party holds 107 seats.
Just before Sunday's lunch meeting, Democratic Party floor spokesperson Rep. Kim Hyun-jung claimed that a plenary session to pass the extra budget bill must take place before July 4, regardless of whether the People Power Party consents.
Also during the meeting, Lee shared with the political leaders about his debut on the international stage as a guest at the Group of Seven summit, according to the presidential office.
Chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik, on Tuesday, had extended a general invitation to the opposition party leaders while Lee was in Canada for the G7 summit. On Thursday, Lee told Kang that the meeting with bipartisan leadership should take place early, and the date was set for Sunday.
This stands in contrast with Lee's conservative predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol, who first met the then-opposition leader Lee about two years into his presidency in April 2024, only after the then-ruling People Power Party suffered a crushing defeat in the general election.
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