Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Jung Chung-rae criticized People Power Party Chairman Jang Dong-hyuk for not responding to his proposal for a one-on-one meeting, asking "Are you scared to meet me? Are you afraid that what we discuss at the summit will become known to the public?"
At the party's Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 25th, Jung said, "At the last Supreme Council meeting, I proposed an official summit between the two party leaders to make substantial progress in discussions on the integration of South Chungcheong and Daejeon, but I have yet to receive any response."
"I ask Chairman Jang: Do you oppose balanced national development?" Jung pressed. "Chairman Jang's hometown is South Chungcheong, and so is mine. Do you oppose the development of your hometown?"
Jung demanded an answer, saying, "I proposed a meeting to discuss this, so why is there no response? Can't you even say whether you will or will not attend the meeting?"
Referring to the Daegu-North Gyeongsang special bill that failed to reach the plenary session along with the South Chungcheong-Daejeon bill, Jung warned, "The responsibility for opposing integration lies with the People Power Party."
"The People Power Party will face harsh judgment in the upcoming local elections," he said. "The angry public sentiment in Daegu and North Gyeongsang will deliver thorough punishment."
Targeting the PPP's use of filibustering to block bill processing at the National Assembly plenary session, Jung said, "I urge you to stop the filibuster immediately and cooperate on the commercial law revision."
"No matter how much the People Power Party engages in opposition for opposition's sake, the train of livelihood reform legislation will charge forward," he declared.
Jung outlined the party's legislative agenda: "After processing the third commercial law revision at the plenary session, we will proceed without delay according to our timetable with the criminal law revision to establish the crime of law distortion, the Constitutional Court Act revision to introduce constitutional appeals against court rulings, the Court Organization Act revision to increase the number of Supreme Court justices, the National Referendum Act revision to guarantee voting rights for overseas Koreans, and the Jeonnam-Gwangju administrative integration special law."
Jung also criticized the Supreme Court for opposing judicial reform bills. Regarding the court's opposition to the constitutional appeal law, he said, "I say clearly to Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae: It is the Constitutional Court that determines whether something is unconstitutional."
"The authority to interpret the Constitution does not lie with Jo Hee-dae's Supreme Court but with the Constitutional Court. I hope there will be no more irrelevant remarks," he added.
On the crime of law distortion, Jung emphasized it is "to definitively root out the outrageous fabricated indictments by the politicized prosecution."
Meanwhile, Jung commented on the KOSPI market, which surpassed the 6,000 mark for the first time in history that morning. "Since President Lee Jae-myung took office and the nation has normalized, the stock market that suffered from the Korea discount is also on the path to normalization," he assessed.
"We must enhance stock market efficiency so that the index can soar beyond 6,000 to 7,000 and 8,000," he said.