Lee meets Democratic Party leaders for 3-hour dinner, reaffirming united front

President Lee Jae Myung sat down Wednesday with Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok, floor leader Han Byung-do and other party leadership for a roughly three-hour dinner to discuss major policy issues, in what appeared to be a move to smooth over tensions between the party and the presidential office.

Friction had surfaced in recent weeks over disagreements on real estate tax reform — including changes to the comprehensive real estate holding tax — and measures to boost the stock market. The dinner was seen as an opportunity for both sides to reaffirm their commitment to policy coordination and closer communication.

The talks centered on the economic situation, measures to improve livelihoods and the path forward for passing next year's budget bill. Kim asked the government to take bold and swift action to address inequality and stimulate consumer spending, while President Lee said the party and the administration "must move as one" and urged active cooperation on the budget.

Kim appeared on the Democratic Party's YouTube channel "Minti07" on Thursday and said the dinner focused mainly on the budget and recent economic conditions. "We talked a lot about the economy — on one hand discussing how the overall indicators look positive, and on the other, what to do about the gap between those indicators and what people actually feel in their daily lives," Kim said.

Kim said the semiconductor-led and large-conglomerate-driven economic recovery had not translated into greater spending power for ordinary citizens. "I raised the question of whether we need to think more seriously about more direct and stronger measures to address that, and I'm considering putting together a proposal from the party," Kim said, signaling the possibility of additional policy recommendations to stimulate consumption.

Asked about criticism that the party and the presidential office were out of step, Kim drew a line. "I exchange opinions with President Lee frequently, even on ordinary days," Kim said. "I don't think there are cases where communication breaks down because we don't know each other's situations, concerns or intentions."

Han echoed that view at a policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on Thursday, saying, "There is clearly no discord between the party and the presidential office."

The real estate tax issue, which had recently exposed divisions within the ruling party, was not discussed in any significant depth at the dinner, according to sources familiar with the meeting.

The controversy began when Senior Spokesperson Park Seong-jun said at a high-level party-government consultative meeting that a proposal had been conveyed to the government calling for the basic deduction threshold for the comprehensive real estate holding tax to be raised to 1.4 billion won ($1.05 million) for all single-homeowners, regardless of whether they actually live in the property. That position differed from the government's plan, which would raise the threshold to 1.4 billion won only for owner-occupiers while keeping the current 1.2 billion won threshold for non-resident single-homeowners.

When asked whether the comprehensive real estate tax deduction had come up at the dinner, Kim said it had not been a major topic. "The basic principle already agreed upon for the real estate policy the party and the government are pursuing is that it is better to maintain consistency, so we did not hold a separate discussion on that," Kim said, lending weight to the government's position.

Kim also said he had suggested that lawmakers meet with the president more often going forward. "I also proposed holding a full gathering of all Assembly members. I think we will be able to make that happen before long," Kim said.

During the dinner, President Lee shared his own experience as a former Democratic Party leader and offered words of encouragement to Kim. "We talked about the various difficulties we each faced during our time as party leader," Kim said. "Because President Lee has been through it himself, he shared stories from those tough days and gave me a real boost of confidence."