Opposition boycott derails Lee’s luncheon

Feb 13, 2026, 07:58 am

		0
Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, leaves after holding a press conference at the National Assembly on Feb. 12 regarding his decision not to attend the Blue House luncheon with President Lee Jae-myung. / Song Eui-joo

A planned luncheon between President Lee Jae-myung and rival party leaders was called off after Jang Dong-hyuk of the People Power Party announced a last-minute boycott, further escalating tensions between the ruling and opposition camps.

The meeting, scheduled for Feb. 12 at the Cheong Wa Dae, had been intended as a gesture of political reconciliation ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. However, Jang decided not to attend following internal discussions at a party leadership meeting earlier in the day. The presidential office was notified of his absence about an hour before the event.

The boycott came in protest of the Democratic Party of Korea pushing key judiciary reform bills through the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee a day earlier. The measures include a revision to the Constitutional Court Act, often referred to as the “trial appeal bill,” and a bill to expand the number of Supreme Court justices.

At a press conference at the National Assembly, Jang criticized the ruling party, saying, “The Democratic Party hid a knife behind its back with one hand while asking for a handshake with the other.” He added, “This is not the first time. Whenever a luncheon with the president is scheduled, unreasonable actions have taken place either on the same day or the day before. When coincidences repeat, they become inevitabilities.”

In response, Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae strongly rebuked the move on Facebook, writing that there was “not even the slightest respect for the people and the president,” and calling the last-minute cancellation “an incomprehensible discourtesy” and “truly hopeless.”

The presidential office also expressed regret over the cancellation. The luncheon would have marked the first such meeting in 157 days, since Sept. 8 last year, and was expected to carry a message of bipartisan cooperation on pressing economic and governance issues.

Hong Ik-pyo, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, said in a briefing that the presidential office found it “deeply regrettable” that a previously agreed schedule with the president was canceled in connection with developments at the National Assembly. He stressed that the operation of standing committees and legislative schedules are matters for the ruling party to determine, adding that the presidential office had not intervened in any way.

Regarding President Lee’s reaction, Hong said there were no particular remarks. He explained that the cancellation notice was delivered earlier in the morning through the opposition party leader’s chief of staff, citing the previous day’s developments at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee as the reason the luncheon could not proceed.

#Lee Jae-myung #Jang Dong-hyuk #People Power Party #Democratic Party of Korea