PRESIDENT MOON INVITES POLITICAL LEADERS

[Anchor Lead]

President Moon Jae-in invited the leaders of five major political parties to dinner at Cheong Wa Dae on Sunday to thank them for paying their condolences to his late mother. They also discussed various state issues as it was their first meeting in four months, but participants reported that there was some shouting when the fast-tracked election bill was mentioned.

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President Moon Jae-in invited the leaders of five political parties to his official residence for the first time since he took office. The gathering, mainly to thank them for paying condolences to his late mother, lasted for nearly three hours. They also discussed state affairs over dinner. First, party leaders responded positively to the president's proposal to revive the tripartite council of the ruling and opposition parties and the government that has been suspended for a year.

[Soundbite] KIM JONG-DAE(JUSTICE PARTY) : "President said he hoped a standing council that allows the five parties to communicate with the president would be revived."
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President Moon also asked for their bipartisan cooperation to deal with Japan's export controls and the extension of the intelligence sharing pact, GSOMIA. He also urged the National Assembly to make more effort to pass the bills on the flexible working program and other economic matters. But participants claimed that discussions soon became a shouting match between the party leaders when the fast-tracked election reform plan was mentioned. Liberty Korea Party chief Hwang Kyo-ahn first brought up the issue by saying the bill should not be passed unilaterally. This caused other party leaders to lash out, saying it was the LKP that failed to respond to the call for talks on the election law revisions.

[Soundbite] CHUNG DONG-YOUNG(PARTY FOR DEMOCRACY AND PEACE) : "Chairman Hwang claimed that the bill was fast-tracked without discussing it with the Liberty Korea Party."

President Moon eventually had to step in to end the argument between Hwang and the other party leaders. Afterward, they reportedly apologized to each other for raising their voices. The president asked lawmakers to discuss this issue before passing the bill.