Moon to meet with political leaders at parliament on COVID-19 response

Moon to meet with political leaders at parliament on COVID-19 response

Parliament
SEOUL, Feb. 26, 2020 (Yonhap/NAN) President Moon Jae-in will visit the National Assembly this week for discussions with the leaders of ruling and opposition parties on the COVID-19 epidemic.

A Cheong Wa Dae official said on Wednesday.

Moon plans to meet with the heads of South Korea’s four major parties at the parliamentary compound in western Seoul on Friday, according to the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The parties are the ruling Democratic Party and the main opposition United Future Party, as well as two minor opposition parties, the Justice Party and the Party for People’s Livelihoods.

It will be the first time for Moon to visit the National Assembly for such a group meeting with political party leaders since his inauguration in May 2017.

He usually invites them to Cheong Wa Dae for consultations over a meal,the previous session took place in November 2019.

The planned session is meant to pool wisdom on ways to halt the spread of the virus and counteract its economic fallout.

Moon is also likely to request bipartisan support for the government’s all-out efforts to ride out the incident.

The president earlier stated the need for an emergency supplementary budget.

Hwang Kyo-ahn, chief of the United Future Party, said he’s accepting Moon’s meeting offer, adding that it’s urgent to make joint efforts to cope with the virus and revive the people’s livelihoods. (Yonhap/NAN)
HS/EAL
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Edited by Halima sheji/Ekemini Ladejobi