Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the People Power Party, and Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party, exchanged views on key issues including the chief justice's power to nominate Supreme Court justices and housing policy at their first official meeting on the 24th. While the two revealed differences over whether the presidential office should be consulted in advance during the nomination process, they found common ground on the need for the rival parties to discuss housing on a bipartisan basis.
Kim called on Jang at the National Assembly that day, saying, "Even if every other thread of political dialogue is cut, you and I must remain in a relationship where we can talk." He proposed moving beyond making communication between the two party leaders "regular" to making it "frequent." Jang responded, "I fully agree with the proposal to meet directly and talk often."
Differences emerged, however, once the leaders turned to substantive issues, particularly over the power to nominate Supreme Court justices. Citing recent objections raised by the ruling bloc over Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's Supreme Court nominations, Jang argued that the chief justice's nomination power should be respected to preserve judicial independence.
"Upholding the intent of the constitution in the chief justice's nomination is what protects judicial independence," he said. "Checks on the chief justice's nomination power and the president's appointment power are carried out through the National Assembly's consent process." He added, "It is my personal interpretation of the constitution and my conviction that consulting or coordinating with the presidential office in advance is instead improper."
Jang also cited the case of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun. "Even during President Roh's time, the presidential office expressed dissatisfaction over a Supreme Court nomination, but in the end he accepted the nomination out of a belief that judicial independence is the foundation of the rule of law," he said. "I believe President Roh showed that resolve out of a conviction that protecting judicial independence is democracy's last bastion."
Kim replied, "You are asking us to consider the resolve of President Roh, who accepted it in the interest of the rule of law despite procedural problems, and it seems you have acknowledged that there were procedural issues," adding, "I will take it into careful account." Still, he stressed the need for procedural consultation, saying, "After 21 years, we are approaching this not as a matter of one side's resolve alone, but of normalizing everything, including the overall process."
Jang countered, "My point is that it is not appropriate to keep dwelling on procedural issues," and argued, "There are no procedural problems; rather, the chief justice's nomination power should be respected in itself as an inherent authority for judicial independence." He added, "Because the National Assembly's consent process is in place, checks are carried out within the Assembly, and the president appoints accordingly."
On housing policy, the two found some common ground rather than confrontation. Jang noted that during the presidential campaign, President Lee Jae-myung said he would not use taxes to rein in home prices and pledged to improve the comprehensive real estate tax, ease lending rules, and ease regulations on private rebuilding and redevelopment. Jang pointed out that recent government policy has been diverging from that stance.
"What matters most in government policy is public trust," Jang said. "Housing policy in particular must rest on a consistent stance that the public can trust." He added, "Policy should be pursued based on market order while working to correct market failures," and welcomed the government's move at a high-level party-government meeting the previous day to partly adjust its housing policy, saying, "For now, I welcome it."
Kim also said, "I understand this as a call to keep the stance the public chose in the presidential election." He explained, "Broadly speaking, we are working on the premise of correcting the housing market while respecting it, rather than approaching home prices through taxes."
He added, "Regardless of party or ideological lines, both sides have tended to focus on their own grievances when it comes to housing," and said, "Just as foreign affairs are handled on a bipartisan basis, I hope we can build a framework in which the rival parties can discuss housing policy across party lines."
At the meeting, the two leaders also exchanged views on the proposed operation of a "future response fund." Jang raised caution over a plan to create the fund using excess tax revenue, saying, "If it is operated outside the controls of the National Finance Act, there is a strong possibility of loose management." He proposed, "Let us come up with a way to use 50% of the excess tax revenue for the middle class, the self-employed, and young adults."
Kim said, "There is much I agree with," adding, "We differ on what it would be most efficient to spend it on first, and I think it would be better to hold further discussions."
