President Lee meets Chief Justice Cho at National Assembly... "How have you been?"

Yonhap News Agency

Before delivering his policy address on next year's budget bill on November 2, President Lee Jaemyung met with National Assembly Speaker Cho Jungsik, leaders of major political parties, and heads of the five constitutional institutions, asking them to work together on a bipartisan basis. He also exchanged greetings with Chief Justice Cho Heedae.

At around 9:40 a.m. that morning, President Lee held a preliminary meeting with Speaker Cho and Democratic Party leader Kim Minseok and floor leader Han Byeongdo, People Power Party leader Jang Donghyeok, and Rebuilding Korea Party leader Shin Jangsik in the National Assembly Speaker's reception room.

Chief Justice Cho Heedae, Constitutional Court President Kim Sanghwan, and Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Kim Hocheol were also present. President Lee drew attention when he shook hands with Chief Justice Cho, who had come to the meeting room, and asked, "How have you been?" President Lee and Chief Justice Cho are at odds over a controversy surrounding the re-nomination of a Supreme Court justice. The ruling Democratic Party has also announced plans for a parliamentary investigation and impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Cho, putting pressure on him.

President Lee also greeted Kim by saying, "It's good to see you." In particular, he smiled at Jang and said, "It's good to see you. I see you on broadcasts a lot..."

At the meeting, Speaker Cho said, "The 2027 budget, the largest on record, will reflect much careful consideration of the national priority of a sweeping transformation through artificial intelligence (AI) and the recovery of people's livelihoods." He added, "Alongside the public's expectations, the National Assembly also feels a sense of responsibility." He continued, "We will scrutinize the budget carefully to ensure it is put to essential and effective use, and do our utmost across party lines to pass it within the statutory deadline set by the Constitution," stressing that "there can be no distinction between the ruling and opposition parties when it comes to people's livelihoods and the economy."

President Lee responded, "This budget is astonishingly large in scale, but a closer look at its details shows that the government can manage the nation's finances with almost no new government bond issuance." He explained that "South Korea's economy has grown enormously."

The opposition parties also expressed differences over matters including the Future Response Fund. People Power Party leader Jang Donghyeok was reportedly strongly opposed to cooperation, saying at the meeting, "There are problems with the Future Response Fund. Even public officials are bewildered by this kind of budget, which is not subject to National Assembly oversight."

Rebuilding Korea Party leader Shin Jangsik was also reported to have said, in effect, "Funds are subject to National Assembly oversight, although the government has discretion over 20% of them. But the Future Response Fund raises that discretion to 30%. This is something the National Assembly needs to examine carefully."

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