Korea: “Only the people will see it”: Emergency gathering of close friends for dinner
President Yoon Seok-yeol is having a tea chat with Venerable Jeong Yeo and Abbot Jeong Oh at Beomeosa Temple in Geumjeong-gu, Busan on the 22nd. 2024.10.22/News 1 provided by the President’s Office”/>
On the 22nd, a day after the meeting, President Yoon Seok-yeol and People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon issued messages, respectively, saying, “Even if stones are thrown, we will get hit” and “We will look only at the people and follow the public sentiment and solve the problem without avoiding it.” At an emergency dinner meeting with about 20 pro-Han Dong-hoon lawmakers that day, Representative Han reportedly said something to the effect of, “I strictly delivered my demands to the President’s Office, and the temperature difference was confirmed.” On this day, when close-knit lawmakers stated that they “shared the gravity of the situation,” the ruling party’s interpretation was that “President Yoon and Representative Han will go their separate ways and continue to sharply conflict over the solution to First Lady Kim Kun-hee’s risk.”
On this day, President Yoon visited Beomeosa Temple in Geumjeong-gu, Busan, made an offering at the incense burner in the main hall, paid three obeisances to the Buddha, and drank tea with Beomeosa Temple’s abbot, Monk Jeong-yeon, and the head of the temple, Jeong-yeo. At this event, President Yoon said, “There are many difficult situations, but I will think of them as karma and work for the country and the people without hesitation.” Monk Jeong Yeo said, “I feel reassured that you have shown that you do not give in even in difficult situations.” The President’s Office said, “The President received the ‘Mugumuae (無垢無碍)’ scroll, which means ‘There is no fault in life, so there is nothing to get caught up in’, and the ‘Gamindae (堪忍待)’ frame, which means ‘Endure and be patient and wait.’ “He said.
Representative Han expressed his gratitude for winning the Ganghwa-gun by-election at the Ganghwa Pungmul Market in Incheon. Representative Han met with reporters here and said, “I really like the name of our party, People Power. “We will become the ‘power of the people,’” he emphasized. That evening, Representative Han had dinner with about 20 close-knit lawmakers at a restaurant in Yeouido, Seoul. It is known that the meal on this day was a ‘flash-in-the-mill’ meeting, and Representative Han shared with the lawmakers the status of his meeting with the President the previous day and exchanged opinions on follow-up measures. At the meeting, members of the so-called “Team Han Dong-hoon,” who ran the July 23 National Convention election together, including Supreme Council member Jang Dong-hyuk, Secretary General Seo Beom-soo, party leader Chief of Staff Park Jeong-ha, and Chief Spokesperson Han Ji-ah, and Choi Da-seon, a member of the party who attended the friendly party dinner for the first time on the 6th. 16 people, including Rep. Cho Kyung-tae (6th term) and first-term Rep. Kim Geon, were present.
Reporter Kwon Gu-yong 9dragon@donga.com