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| Secretaries-general of five political parties hold hands at the National Assembly, Tuesday, after agreeing to a meeting between leaders of the parties and President Moon Jae-in on Thursday to tackle Japan's trade restrictions on South Korea. From left are Reps. Kim Kwang-soo of the minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace; Lim Jae-hun of the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party; Yun Ho-jung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea; Park Maeng-woo of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party; and Shin Jang-sik of the Justice Party. Yonhap |
By Park Ji-won
President Moon Jae-in and leaders of five political parties agreed Tuesday to hold a multi-partisan meeting Thursday to discuss ways to tackle Japan's export restrictions on South Korea.
"The five parties agreed on making bipartisan efforts and meeting with Moon to minimize the impact of Japan's trade retaliation on the Korean economy and resolve the issue as soon as possible amid the unprecedented trade spat between Seoul and Tokyo," Rep. Yun Ho-jong of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) told reporters, Tuesday. Cheong Wa Dae also agreed with the parties' plan, according to governmental sources.
The meeting, which will be participated in by Rep. Lee Hae-chan of the DPK; main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn, minor opposition Bareunmirae Party Chairman Sohn Hak-kyu, Party for Democracy and Peace (PDP) Chairman Rep. Chung Dong-young and Justice Party leader Rep. Sim Sang-jung, is scheduled to be held between 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday.
During the meeting, government officials will brief the party leaders on Japan's trade curbs and the impact on South Korea's economy. They will also discuss cooperative measures with the President as well as pending issues, Yun said.
The move came amid mounting worries over the lack of countermeasures against Japan's "retaliatory" move. Japan imposed stricter export rules on South Korea for three key materials necessary for making high-tech products such as chips and displays on July 4, in an apparent move to counter Seoul's handling of a wartime forced labor issue. Since Hwang proposed on Monday the meeting with Moon, secretaries-general of the parties met on Monday and Tuesday to fine-tune the schedule and agenda of the meeting.
Adding to the agenda on Japan's trade restrictions, they will discuss North Korea's nuclear programs and the passage of a supplementary budget bill.
It will be Moon's first gathering with party leaders since March 2018. The multi-partisan meeting hasn't been held for months as the LKP's Hwang has claimed to have one-on-one meetings with Moon.
