DPK chief declines to join meeting hosted by Speaker

National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang, center, and other chairpeople of the country's political parties stand together before participating in a regular bipartisan meeting at the National Assembly, Monday. From left are Rep. Sim Sang-jeung of the Justice Party; Hwang Kyo-ahn of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party; Moon; Sohn Hak-kyu of the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party and Rep. Chung Dong-young of the Party for Democracy and Peace. Rep. Lee Hae-chan, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea refused to take part, citing people's negative sentiment on current political issues. Yonhap

By Park Ji-won

Ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Rep. Lee Hae-chan, refused to participate in a regular meeting with chairpersons of the other political parties and the National Assembly speaker, blaming the political wrangling over embattled Justice Minister Cho Kuk.

Speaker Moon Hee-sang suggested the meeting of senior party officials amid a deepening political feud between the country's main political parties.

“Lee decided not to participate in the meeting due to the people's sensitivity to issues such as the damage from Typhoon Mitag, African swine fever and Japan's trade restrictions as well as the fact that the meeting is being used for political wrangling, not for the people's livelihoods,” the DPK said in a message to reporters.

It is rare for a ruling party chairman to skip the monthly meeting, originally set up by Speaker Moon Hee-sang last October to ensure communication between the parties and strengthen parliamentary cooperation.

“During the meeting, meanwhile, chairpersons, except for the DPK's Lee, agreed to hold regular meetings and have regular, in-depth discussions separate from the one led by the speaker. We will seek political reforms including reform of the prosecution,” National Assembly spokesman Han Min-soo told reporters.

The DPK is trying to take attention away from Cho Kuk-dominated issues at the Assembly, DPK officials said, and focus more on parliamentary activities such as the ongoing audit of government agencies.

Cho has been under fire over allegations of corruption and financial wrongdoing as well as academic rigging involving himself and his family members. Cho has been dominating the political agenda for months since his nomination in August, making it hard for the political parties to tackle other issues.

When dealing with the Cho issue, the political parties are largely divided into two groups ― the DPK is supporting Cho's appointment while opposition parties, including the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), are objecting to it.

The DPK hailed a recent pro-Cho demonstration calling it a repetition of the candlelit protests that led to the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye. The LKP has been urging Cho to resign and Moon to apologize for the current political divisions.

President Moon's approval rating dropped to its lowest, 44.4 percent, according to Realmeter, Monday, probably due to Cho's appointment and the lingering political turmoil.

The DPK's approval rating also fell to 38.3 percent, down 1.9 percentage points, while the LKP's rose to 33.2 percent, up 2.7 percentage points.