President Yoon in trouble from the beginning of Lee’s second term as DPK leader

President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at a Cabinet meeting held at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, on August 19. Courtesy of the Presidential Office

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who has to deal with the “second Lee Jae-myung regime,” has been in trouble from the start. Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leader Lee Jae-myung proposed a meeting with Yoon immediately after winning his second term as DPK leader, and hinted at the possibility of accepting a bill mandating a special counsel investigation by the third-party over the death of Marine Corps Corporal Chae Su-geun, which was proposed by the ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon. Both were rejected by the presidential office. However, there are voices within the ruling party that it is difficult to unconditionally and indefinitely reject a talk on the subject of people's lives. The special bill Han proposed is also considered a difficult issue for Han to back down from, which is considered a challenge that will cause turmoil within the ruling party if Yoon does not make concessions.

Regarding Lee's proposal for a meeting with Yoon, a high-ranking official at the presidential office said during a phone interview on August 19, "The normalization of the National Assembly is the first priority.” Another official told reporters at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, that “nothing has been set in stone.” The presidential office believes Lee's proposal for the talk is not sincere and suspects the DPK is trying to use the summit as an opportunity to attack the ruling party. There is also lingering resentment which was caused when Lee read the demands he prepared in front of Yoon during the first meeting in April.

But it is not easy for Yoon to reject a talk indefinitely. A meeting between party leaders Han and Lee is scheduled for August 25. The next step is inevitably a talk between Yoon and Lee. If the ruling and opposition leaders' meeting goes well, Yoon will have less reason to reject a talk with Lee.

Moreover, there are many other issues that the Yoon administration needs to deal with, with the cooperation of the National Assembly, including the 2025 budget plan and pension reform. For this reason, even within the pro-Yoon faction, there are voices saying that a meeting between Yoon and Lee will eventually have to be held. “If Han and Lee meet, the next step would be a meeting between the president and Lee,” a pro-Yoon figure said during a phone interview. ”We won't pull out a meeting card right away because we need the opposition's cooperation ahead of the budget plan, but it's a card that needs to be used step by step before the end of the year.” A senior member of the PPP said, "It is right to increase communication," adding, "It is not good to avoid meeting."

However, for Han, it is difficult to abandon a special counsel investigation bill that he proposed without even attempting to introduce it into the National Assembly. This is because it could be seen as abandoning major promises he made during the national convention while being wary of the presidential office. Han's aide said on the phone, "We will go through a process of carefully persuading party members. Even if there's a lot of backlash, it is difficult for Han to just abandon it." Within the party, it is observed that Han could push for his third-party investigation bill by removing a poisonous clause from President Yoon's perspective.

The problem is that if the presidential office sticks to its “absolutely unacceptable” stance, the PPP will inevitably fall into internal strife. A ruling party official said, “For the pro-Yoon faction, accepting a special counsel investigation bill, whether it's a third-party investigation or anything else, is not even worth talking about. If Han pushes forward, the backlash will be hard to avoid.”

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.