President Lee Meets Civil Society for 210 Minutes: "Major Social Reforms Will Rely Heavily on Civil Society"

Attendance Focused on Field Executives from Civil Society
Proposals Include National Citizen Participation Committee, Future Response Fund, and Housing Welfare
"Will Actively Review Feasible Suggestions for State Affairs... Ongoing Communication

On the 4th, President Lee Jae-myung invited civil society representatives to the Blue House and listened to their opinions on major national issues for three and a half hours. President Lee emphasized the significant role of civil society, stating, "Civil society has a very important share in the grand social reforms we must undertake going forward," and requested their active participation.

President Lee Jae-myung is delivering a greeting at the civil society invitation meeting held at the Blue House on the 4th. 2026.9.4 Yonhap News Agency

Blue House Deputy Spokesperson An Gwiryong stated in a written briefing on the same day that President Lee held a meeting with civil society representatives to hear field opinions. This meeting was arranged to strengthen communication with civil society as the administration enters its second year and to broadly reflect the grassroots voices of frontline activists in national policy decisions.

The meeting was attended by Isunghoon, Chairperson of the Steering Committee for the Conference of Civil Society Organizations, Ju Jaejun, Policy Director of the Korean Progressive Alliance, and other civil society representatives. In line with the purpose of directly hearing the voices from the field, the Blue House organized the participants mainly from those with practical responsibilities on the ground.

In his greeting, President Lee stated, "Civil society has always played a crucial role in the history of South Korea’s democratization," and added, "Civil society will also have a very significant part in the sweeping social reforms we must undertake."

He also emphasized that there is no substantial difference between the direction the government and civil society are aiming for. President Lee said, "The world you wish to create and the world I want to create are not very different. While the path and methods to reach the goal may vary slightly, those differences are not significant." He continued, "Let us work together to build a community where everyone is fairly respected and lives together, a country where the people are hopeful for development, and a society with a fair and transparent system."

During the meeting, there were suggestions on policy matters such as establishing a governance system for institutionalizing civic participation in state affairs, utilizing the future response fund, and addressing housing, care, and job issues. Chairman Isunghoon proposed that the establishment of the 'National Committee for Civic Participation', a national policy agenda, could provide a model for resolving social conflicts and create a governance structure through which citizens can participate in state affairs. He also stressed the need to strengthen communication within civil society, including fully reflecting the voices from the field and regions into policy implementation processes.

Chairman Ju Jaejun presented opinions on major social issues, including ways to utilize the future response fund, enhancement of housing welfare, substantial improvement of integrated care, and securing "decent jobs."

In the following open discussion, attendees exchanged views on various issues such as human rights, the environment, agriculture and fisheries, women, peace, and historical issues. After listening to the participants’ opinions, President Lee responded that the administration would actively consider incorporating issues that could be reflected in state affairs. He also conveyed his intention to continue to listen to and communicate with a diversity of voices.

Deputy Spokesperson An stated, "The meeting lasted three and a half hours, going beyond the scheduled time," adding that "President Lee listened to all of the participants’ remarks to the end."

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