▲ President Lee Jae-myung
It has been confirmed that President Lee Jae-myung held a private luncheon at the Blue House, inviting four members of his "inaugural cabinet" who have either stepped down or are preparing to leave office.
According to SBS reporting, President Lee had lunch this afternoon, September 17, with four current and former State Council members: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol, Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-baek, and Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yoon-duck—all three of whom are set to leave office—along with former Minister of Justice Jeong Sungho, who stepped down last month.
Former Minister Jeong Sungho left office on August 24, while Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol, Minister Ahn, and Minister Kim are scheduled to step down depending on the timing of their successors' appointments.
During the luncheon, President Lee reportedly expressed his gratitude and offered encouragement to the four current and former ministers who served as the inaugural cabinet heads of the Lee Jae-myung administration.
High-profile topics that have drawn recent public interest, such as upcoming cabinet reshuffle appointments or the issue of "withdrawing indictments" related to the special counsel bill on distorted indictments, were reportedly not brought up.
A senior ruling party official who attended the luncheon told SBS, "It was a casual meal," adding, "We only exchanged words thanking them for their hard work and talked about past experiences, such as from the previous presidential election."
The official added, "There was no mention whatsoever of withdrawing indictments, recent approval ratings, or Minister of Justice nominee Kim Seung-won."
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