NAT'L ASSEMBLY HOLDS OPENING CEREMONY

[Anchor Lead]

The 21st session of the National Assembly finally held an opening ceremony 47 days after its term began. In his speech, President Moon Jae-in called for the end of antagonistic politics and the beginning of an era of concerted governance.

[Pkg]

​The opening ceremony for the 21st National Assembly took place belatedly. In fact, it was the latest opening ceremony on record since the 1987 constitutional amendment. President Moon Jae-in noted that the biggest mistake made by the 20th National Assembly was failing to come together in concerted governance.

[Soundbite] PRES. MOON JAE-IN : "I must admit that the blame lies with all of us, including myself."

He underlined the need for change in the new National Assembly.

[Soundbite] "The 21st National Assembly must end conflicting and antagonistic politics and open an era of concerted governance."

The president asked for non-partisan cooperation for the Korean version of the New Deal proposed four days ago as a national growth strategy.

[Soundbite] "As a country that leads the post-COVID era, Korea will write a new history not from the world's fringe, but from its center."

As for the controversial real estate policy, President Moon again stated his commitment to root out speculation and his willingness to listen to the opposition bloc's demand for increased supply in housing.

[Soundbite] "I'm making it clear that nobody will be able to make money through real estate speculation."

He also asked the lawmakers to complete the confirmation hearings on Unification Minister and National Intelligence Service Director and the recommendation of corruption investigation chief by the end of the July session. The need for parliamentary ratification of the April 27th Panmunjeom Declaration and other inter-Korean accords were mentioned as well.

[Soundbite] "If the National Assembly ensures the irreversibility of "peace on the Korean Peninsula," the grounds for pushing for peace in the region will grow even more solid."

The opposition United Future Party criticized that the president placed all the blame on the opposition party for the current government's failures such as the ineffective real estate policies and chilled inter-Korean relations.

[Soundbite] JOO HO-YOUNG(UNITED FUTURE PARTY FLOOR LEADER) : "I was greatly disappointed that he didn't mention the issues that people were interested in."

Meanwhile, there was a security breach during the president's departure from the National Assembly. A man threw his shoe at the president in protest, but the presidential office didn't comment on the incident except that the office was looking into it.