President Lee Jae-myung and former President Moon Jae-in met for a luncheon at Sangchunjae in the Blue House, where they shared a consensus on the importance of unity within the Democratic camp and national integration.
The emphasis on unity comes as internal competition intensifies over the next party leadership of the Democratic Party.
During the meeting today (July 1), former President Moon said, "Another task of the era given to the Lee Jae-myung administration is national integration," adding, "I hope you will exercise greater leadership to surely achieve the dream of being a 'president for all.'"
Former President Moon also emphasized that "unity within the party is the starting point for moving toward national integration."
He added, "The Democratic Party must unite first, and upon that foundation, achieve a greater unity with the democratic reformist bloc and the forces that stood together during the 'Revolution of Light' to bring the hearts of the people together."
He further remarked, "In the Republic of Korea today, you, Mr. President, are the only person capable of accomplishing the tasks of uniting the Democratic Party, achieving greater unity with the democratic reformist bloc, and moving toward national integration."
In response, President Lee Jae-myung replied, "Internal unity is also very important. The core must be solid."
He added, "We must strive to create a structural majority while continuously expanding our reach. I believe these two must be done in harmony."
President Lee explained, "Our democratic government has now become a major force responsible for the entire nation. Fundamentally, as we are in power, we must represent everyone and conduct politics and administration for all."
While they agreed on the need for internal party unity, some interpreted the remarks as revealing a difference in perspective between the former and current presidents regarding the direction to take moving forward.
The interpretation stems from the fact that while former President Moon emphasized the integration of the pan-ruling camp by mentioning "unity of the democratic reformist bloc" and "greater unity with forces that joined the Revolution of Light," President Lee spoke of "expanding political reach" and "efforts for a structural majority."
However, Hong Ik-pyo, Senior Secretary to the President for Political Affairs, refuted this in a briefing, stating, "Unity and expanding political reach are not separate values, and it is not the case that former President Moon spoke only of unity while President Lee spoke only of expanding reach."
He explained, "Both of them agreed that both unity and expanding political reach are important. They shared the view that these matters should be managed carefully and should not be handled in an insulting manner."
(Photo: Yonhap News)