(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporters Seol Seung-eun, Park Jae-ha, and Ahn Jeong-hoon = On the 4th, President Lee Jae-myung invited the presidents and executives of the Korean Constitutional Association to the Blue House for lunch and listened to their opinions on running state affairs, Blue House Chief Spokesperson Kang Yu-jeong said in a written briefing.
First, Chairman Jeong Dae-cheol of the Constitutional Council gave a greeting and asked the President to take the lead in dialogue and coordination for the politics of coexistence, cooperation, and integration, and then proposed a constitutional amendment within his term to strengthen the decentralized presidential system and local decentralization.
At this event, President Lee said, "Dialogue and communication are essential, just as we must compromise with the enemy, and the experience and advice of senior political leaders are desperately needed," and expressed hope that the role of the Constitutional Council will be expanded.
In relation to this, Chairman Chung said in a phone call with Yonhap News that he asked President Lee to communicate and cooperate with the opposition party, saying, "I hope that he will become a president of forgiveness, reconciliation, and inclusion."
Chairman Chung also explained, "If I discovered (the ruling party's) monopoly on legislation or excessive involvement in the judiciary, I asked them to stop it. I thanked them for saying that."
Regarding the constitutional amendment, President Lee said, "Considering the contemporary environment, there are parts of the current constitution that are like clothes that do not fit modern society," and pointed out, "President-led constitutional amendment may have low public acceptance."
At the same time, he said, "The fact that the consent of more than two-thirds of the National Assembly members is required for constitutional amendment is also a high barrier," and "It is desirable to find areas where the ruling and opposition parties can agree in the National Assembly and build on that agreement."
President Lee also mentioned the opposition party's criticism of the 'constitutional amendment to extend the term of office' and said, "Even if I have good intentions, if I take too much of a lead (in constitutional amendment), I could increase the scope for misunderstanding," Chairman Chung said.
Chairman Chung also requested a cautious approach to the transfer of wartime operational control that the government is pursuing.
Chairman Chung said, "We will have to return OPCON at some point, but we must be cautious now. We must compromise the attitudes of North Korea and the United States and bring North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-style nuclear sharing along with OPCON."
Chairman Chung reported that President Lee did not give any specific response to this.
The constitutional members also gave various advice on the direction of state administration.
Chief Spokesperson Kang said that in addition to favorable reviews of the people's livelihood activities, such as visits to basic income sites in rural and fishing villages, and efforts to normalize Korea-Japan relations, there were also calls for harmony between the ruling and opposition parties, social polarization issues, the need for a 'cyber security czar' organization, and economic growth.
After listening to this, President Lee responded, “Politics must be pragmatic as its purpose is to improve the lives of the people,” and “Pragmatism, moderation, and dialogue are important in national policy, and above all, moderate guidance is the most important.”
In addition, President Lee said, "As a result of efforts to reverse the national debt and negative growth situation since the launch of the People's Sovereignty Government, economic indicators are gradually gaining leeway," and added, "The situation where the nominal growth rate is predicted to exceed 20% also requires approaching the people with 'improvement of my life'," Chief Spokesperson Kang said.
At the end of the luncheon, when the constitutional members joked to President Lee, “The President is also a member of the Constitutional Association,” considering that the Constitutional Association is a gathering of former National Assembly members, President Lee smiled broadly and replied, “I will carefully look at the words you said.”
