Moon to meet political party leaders on containing COVID-19

SEOUL, Feb. 28 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in will hold a meeting with the heads of South Korea's four major parties Friday in a bid to drum up bipartisan support for his government's desperate fight against the new coronavirus. In an unusual move, Moon plans to visit the National Assembly for the session. All of the president's five previous group meetings with the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties were held at Cheong Wa Dae, usually over a meal. Moon invited them to Cheong Wa Dae on Nov. 10 last year as a gesture of appreciation for their condolence messages over the death of his mother. Moon is expected to request support for the government's efforts to contain the virus. The president earlier raised the need to create an emergency supplementary budget. He is also likely to ask the political circles to refrain from wrangling over issues related to the COVID-19 response. The parliamentary elections are slated for April 15, and each party is in the process of picking candidates. Moon plans to thank the political parties for passing a set of bills earlier this week designed to bolster the nation's response to infectious diseases, according to a Cheong Wa Dae official. To be present at the meeting are Lee Hae-chan, head of the ruling Democratic Party, and Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the main opposition United Future Party, as well as Sim Sang-jeung, chief of the Justice Party, and You Sung-yop, who co-heads the Party for People's Livelihoods. lcd@yna.co.kr (END)