Amid an economic crisis stemming from the Middle East, President Lee Jae-myung and the leadership of both ruling and opposition parties sat down together for the first time in seven months on Wednesday under the banner of a bipartisan "Livelihood Economy Council" meeting. The session featured a heated exchange between Jeong Cheong-rae, leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, and Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the opposition People Power Party (PPP), over the supplementary budget's cash disbursement method. Through it all, President Lee emphasized bipartisan cooperation and delivered unity messages while mediating between the two party leaders — resembling a moderator on the debate show "100 Minutes Debate."
Regarding the president's role, Jeong Ok-im, a former lawmaker of the Saenuri Party (predecessor of the PPP), said on a radio program, "President Lee showed everything he politically wanted by appearing to reconcile the two party leaders." She added, "From the public's perspective, people will come to see the president not as aligned with either the Democratic Party or the PPP but as a unifying leader of state affairs," and said, "The mere fact that he brought the ruling and opposition parties together after seven months served as an occasion to boost trust in the president." In other words, the biggest beneficiary of the day's meeting was President Lee.
"Perceived as a Unifying Leader, Aligned With Neither Party"
