Democratic presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung and New Wave presidential candidate Kim Dong-yeon met in a surprise meeting and officially declared policy solidarity.
After meeting at a cafe in Mapo, Seoul on the afternoon of the 1st, the two candidates agreed that the first step to overcoming the overall crisis in Korea was 'political change'. announced that it has decided to promote 'power structure reform' and 'political reform' as its top priorities under the recognition that the current structural problems cannot be resolved.
First, the two candidates agreed to hold the 2026 presidential and local elections at the same time by shortening the term of the 20th president by one year for constitutional amendment to change the system in 1987.
A separate organization was established to draw national consensus on the constitutional amendment bill, and it was decided to draft the 'seventh republic constitutional amendment bill' within one year of the inauguration of the new government.
In the constitutional amendment, it was decided to include a decentralized presidential system, a responsible prime minister, and the actual separation of powers.
The two candidates also decided to make a political reform bill and submit it to the National Assembly before taking office in order to put into practice a political change that breaks the two-party vested interests.
It is known that the reform bill will include reform of the electoral system such as the interlocking proportional representation system, the abolition of immunity from parliamentarians, the introduction of the national recall system, and annual wages exceeding three terms of the National Assembly.
Next, the two candidates agreed to create an independent decision-making system that goes beyond the ruling party, political ideology, and faction logic to decide housing and education policies, which are the biggest issues in people's livelihood.
The 'National Housing Policy Committee' and the 'National Education Committee' were established, and the term of the members is longer than the term of the President.
The two sides said that the goal was to ensure the independence of the Monetary Policy Committee so that housing and education policies could be decided and implemented in the mid- to long-term.
They also agreed to establish a 'Common Commitment Promotion Committee' composed of citizen representatives under the Presidential Transition Committee.
It was decided to formulate a common pledge among the presidential candidates and strongly promote it from the beginning of the government, and then institutionalize such a system so that it can be established during the presidential election process.
Finally, the two candidates also agreed to form a unified national government as partners in state management.
After the meeting, Candidate Kim met with reporters and said, "While talking with Candidate Lee, we shared our views on political change and a unified government. said.
Candidate Lee also said, "I actively sympathize with Candidate Kim's dream of 'breaking the vested interests and making it a country of opportunity'.
However, when asked about his future plans, Candidate Kim avoided an immediate answer, saying, "We will follow the procedure," and that "it will not take long."
(Photo = Yonhap News)