National Assembly Speaker Jo Jeong-sik met with Kim Min-seok, the newly elected leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, at the speaker's office Thursday morning.
At the meeting, Jo said South Korea faces two major challenges — overcoming the global compound crisis and stabilizing the livelihoods of ordinary citizens — and urged Kim to make public welfare his top priority in handling state affairs. "Now is precisely the time to show the people the competence of the ruling party," Jo said.
Jo also called for practical and effective solutions to economic and livelihood issues, invoking former President Kim Dae-jung's phrase about combining "a scholar's sense of purpose with a merchant's sense of reality." He particularly stressed the need for careful follow-up measures following amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure, which brought sweeping changes to a criminal justice system that had remained intact for 78 years. "We must ensure that no citizen suffers unjust harm," he said.
Jo said the Democratic Party has long been "the party of ordinary people and the middle class" and expressed hope that it would serve as "a steadfast partner in the success of the government" and lead the way in building a culture of parliamentary democracy and political unity as the largest party in the Assembly. "I will also communicate closely with Representative Kim," he added.
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