Trust building holds the key to cooperation

Their leadership spectrum will only broaden when they can build mutual trust through continued communication.

President Yoon Suk Yeol invited main opposition Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung to his office for the first two-way meeting in nearly two years since Yoon was inaugurated in May 2022 after defeating Lee by a narrow margin. The April 10 parliamentary election results delivering another DP majority in the National Assembly was a sober warning to the government for its poor management of state affairs and neglect of a constructive relationship with not only the legislature but also the opposition for co-governance. The meeting came too late, but nevertheless can signal a restoration of cooperative politics.

The meeting lasted 135 minutes, much longer than the scheduled one hour. It ended without a separate declaration or agreement. The two leaders didn’t have a tête-à-tête separately but promised to meet regularly for a two-way or three-way meeting, including the PPP leadership. “Through the meeting, we have made the first step towards communicative and cooperative relationship with the opposition,” the presidential office said in a statement.

The presidential office admitted differences over key policies, including Lee’s proposal for a universal cash handout. But the office said Lee promised to cooperate with the government direction in medical reform. The DP released a statement in a critical and disappointing tone, saying it could not identify the president’s will to change his governance direction and improve the livelihood of the people. The statement added that the two sides agreed to the need for communication and would continue dialogue. Lee drew meaning from “opening the first chapter“ in communication.

The two sides cannot patch things up with the first meeting, given their stark differences over many issues. The meeting was on the brink of a breakup due to working-level differences, but it could take place thanks to both leaders’ will. The gesture itself means the two had accepted one another as partners for governance. Although the two didn’t reach a specific agreement to institutionalize cooperation, they nevertheless set the grounds for cooperation in the future.

The two leaders now have to take confidence-building steps to earn mutual trust for sustainability in their cooperative partnership. Yoon must shake out his image of being arrogant and unilateral while Lee must not fall into the temptation of abusing the majority power to railroad bills to serve its support base.

People working for the two leaders also must change. They must stop slanderous rhetoric to indulge their die-hard supporters. The two leaders will be wasting their maneuvering room if they keep to their habitual slander. Their leadership spectrum will only broaden when they can build mutual trust through continued communication.