President Lee Jae Myung has called for bipartisan cooperation to protect South Korea’s national interests amid shifts in the world order.
 
“The role of domestic politics is especially important now,” Lee said during a meeting with senior aides at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday, following his return from summit talks in Japan.

“If we become divided internally, we will not be able to protect our national interests against external pressures, and even our hard-won diplomatic achievements could be squandered,” Lee said.

The president pointed to global attention on turbulence and major changes in Latin America and the Middle East since the beginning of the year.

Lee also highlighted the meaningful achievements made to expand South Korea’s horizons for economic and cultural cooperation through successive summits with China and Japan, as well as the key role domestic politics plays in ensuring the stable management of state affairs.
 
The president made the remarks as rival parties continued to lock horns over a new special counsel bill that the ruling Democratic Party was set to introduce during a National Assembly plenary session on Thursday.

Lee stressed that the government, the National Assembly, and both the ruling and opposition parties are jointly responsible for state affairs and urged all sides to work together for the sake of the people by upholding their responsibilities and prioritizing national interests over minor differences.