2024-04-29 14:53:39
“It takes about 20 minutes (by car), but they say it actually took about 700 days to get here.”
Lee Jae-myeong, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who entered the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul on the 29th for the first time since President Yoon Seok-yeol took office, made a serious joke as soon as he began his opening remarks. He indirectly pointed out that although Representative Lee had requested a meeting with President Yoon eight times, the meeting did not take place until 720 days after President Yoon took office. President Yoon laughed out loud when Representative Lee said, “It feels a little late, but there is a saying that the fastest time is said to be late,” and Representative Lee also laughed along.
On this day, when it was his turn to make opening remarks, Representative Lee turned to the reporters who were about to leave and said, “I am not leaving, but I have written something to say to the President,” and took out a manuscript he had prepared in advance from the inside pocket of his jacket. It was a 10-page manuscript of half A4 size. Representative Lee read the approximately 4,500-character statement written in the manuscript line by line for 15 minutes. Including Representative Lee’s impromptu ‘ad-lib’ remarks, it was about 5,400 characters long. While he kept his eyes on the manuscript, he also looked straight at President Yoon, who was sitting to his left.
Representative Lee said, “I really hope that you will become a successful president,” and made a conclusive speech, using words such as ‘dictatorship’ and ‘reign’ in President Yoon’s presence. He mentioned the current government’s media environment and pointed out, “A Swedish research institute published a study showing that (Korea’s) dictatorship is in progress,” and added, “In fact, for the past two years, politics has disappeared and only domination and governance have been observed.” He also said, “There are a lot of evaluations that say that it was.” In front of President Yoon, he likened the current state administration policy to being close to a ‘dictatorship’. At the same time, he warned, “If you try to subdue the National Assembly and the opposition party with administrative power, successful state administration will not be easy.”
He also said to President Yoon, “(Through the general election), I think the people have ordered the president and the ruling party to govern the country through communication and unity rather than division or oppression.” “Please listen to my words,” he said. Referring to President Yoon’s remarks at the press conference announcing his election victory, “I think you will naturally remember that he said, ‘I will run state affairs based on the people’s common sense, not ideology, I will honestly confess my mistakes, and I will be an honest president to the people.’” He added, “If you do not forget your original intention and execute it well, our people will completely trust and follow the President and the government.”
Representative Lee repeatedly mentioned that his remarks on this day were ‘the will of the people.’ He said, “What I say today is the will of our people who borrowed my words,” and “You may find what I say today uncomfortable, but that is one aspect of the opposition party and the people’s evaluation of the two years of this government.”
At the end of his remarks, he said, “I hope you can show that politics can be a beautiful competition, not an ugly war,” and “I think you can also show that you can win without killing your opponent.” There was an interpretation that this was a reference to dissatisfaction with the prosecution’s investigation into him.
President Yoon, who personally pulled out a chair for Representative Lee to sit on that day, nodded during the 15 minutes that Representative Lee spoke, while also staring at the manuscript that Representative Lee was reading with a stern expression. After Representative Lee finished his prepared remarks, he responded, “Thank you for your kind words,” and “We were expecting you to say this because it is something that Representative Lee and the Democratic Party have been emphasizing.”
The Democratic Party requested the President’s Office to broadcast Representative Lee’s entire remarks live, but the President’s Office reportedly refused.
Reporter Kang Seong-hwi [email protected]
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2024-04-29 14:53:39