President Lee: "Party, Government, and Blue House Are One Community of Shared Destiny"... Kim Minseok: "We Will Work as Befits the Ruling Party Leadership" (Comprehensive)

President Lee and Democratic Party Leadership Hold Dinner at the Blue House
Two Hours and Twenty Minutes of Conversation and Exchange

President Lee Jae-myung stated during a dinner with the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea, "The party, the administration, and the Blue House form a community of shared destiny and are one body," adding, "There can be no administration without the Democratic Party." Kim Min-seok, the new leader of the Democratic Party, responded by saying, "We will act as befits the leadership of the ruling party."

President Lee, Kim Min-seok, floor leader Han Byung-do, and other key members of the Democratic Party's leadership held a dinner at the main building of the Blue House on this day. The dinner lasted about two hours and twenty minutes. Park Sung-joon, chief spokesperson of the Democratic Party, said, "At this meeting, we communicated openly and exchanged a wide range of opinions."

Chief spokesperson Park stated, "The Democratic Party leadership pledged to strongly support the steadfast implementation of President Lee Jae-myung's policy philosophy and committed to closely cooperating on livelihood and reform bills as well as preparing the 2027 budget." During the toast, participants chanted, "We are one. Democratic Party, fighting."

Yonhap News Agency

During his public remarks at the dinner, President Lee said, "You could say the president is a flower brought forth and nurtured by our Democratic Party," and continued, "Our Democratic Party, the administration, and the Blue House are one." He stressed, "I am the most important member of the Democratic Party, and the government itself is a Democratic Party government created by us." President Lee added, "I hope that through the continued cooperation of the party, administration, and Blue House, we will faithfully fulfill the roles entrusted to the Democratic Party and to the Lee Jae-myung administration by the people."

He emphasized that practical improvements in people’s livelihoods must be achieved through cooperation among the party, the administration, and the Blue House. President Lee said, "The essence of politics is not loud slogans or beautiful rhetoric, but the ability to realistically create better lives for the people," adding, "While it's easy to talk about people's livelihoods, actually taking care of and improving them is not so simple."

President Lee also said, "Whether it is the party, the government, or the Blue House, it is extremely limited what any one side can achieve unilaterally in the policy implementation process." He stated, "The Democratic Party, the government, and the Blue House must combine their efforts and faithfully fulfill the responsibilities entrusted to us by the people." He added, "I hope we will create tangible improvements that the people can truly feel in their lives and in the future of the Republic of Korea. I will also do my best together with you."

President Lee Jae-myung is taking a commemorative photo before the dinner meeting with the new leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea at the Blue House on the 25th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

He also stressed unity. President Lee said, "Although there are differences between us, no matter how great those differences may be, they are never as large as the differences we must overcome with our true counterparts." He added, "If we keep searching for differences, there will be no end. If we seek out our similarities, we can come closer."

President Lee said, "Even twins born from the same womb are different," and continued, "If you begin to focus on differences, you will head down the path of enmity; but if you look for similarities, you become like close brothers." He went on to say, "I hope the members of the Democratic Party—who work on behalf of party members and the people—will go beyond small differences and run full speed ahead in building the great Republic of Korea entrusted to us by the people."

Kim Min-seok also pledged unity, stating, "We will become a leadership that does our work well and leaves the public with no worries." Kim said, "Having already gone through several supreme council meetings and internal debates, our public messages have naturally been focusing more on matters of state affairs, the nation's direction, and correcting issues." He expressed his confidence: "I am certain that our supreme council meetings will work together in harmony just as well as under the two previous leaderships led by President Lee. I will do my utmost to ensure our leadership works together as a team."

The Democratic Party leadership actively demonstrated its commitment to cooperation among the party, administration, and Blue House. Kim said, "Now is the time for the party to truly roll up its sleeves and show its abilities, supporting the president so that his stewardship of state affairs is successful." Han Byung-do, the floor leader, remarked, "Today marks the 448th day since our government was inaugurated. Looking back on the past 447 days, there have been many remarkable achievements, but I feel the real decisive period for the success or failure of the administration begins now. Especially in the National Assembly, we must now face matters with exceptional resolution and determination, and I will do my utmost to deliver concrete results that raise the people’s sense of efficacy."

Floor leader Han also said, "I am determined to do everything necessary to pass this year’s main legislative tasks before year’s end," adding, "As floor leader, I will ensure that under close and organic cooperation among the party, administration, and Blue House, tangible achievements are delivered." He continued, "We will check the status of legislative tasks on a weekly basis and carefully track them through standing committees and the main assembly. In particular, we will see to it that the ‘Mega Special Zone Act’ budget bill is handled within the statutory deadline, and that the ‘Future Preparedness Fund Establishment Act’ is enacted in a timely manner through thorough preparation."

In addition to Kim Min-seok and Han Byung-do, the dinner was attended by Choi Min-hee, Han Min-soo, Lee Sung-yoon, Seo Mi-hwa, and Park Sun-won, all supreme council members; Han Jung-ae, secretary general; Kwon Chil-seung, policy committee chair; Park Sung-joon, chief spokesperson; as well as Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff at the Blue House; Hong Ik-pyo, senior presidential secretary for political affairs; and Jeong Eul-ho, political secretary.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.