Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea and Cho Kuk, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, had a dinner together for two hours and 30 minutes on the 25th. We each drank a bottle of Chinese liquor (white wine) at M Chinese Restaurant in Anguk-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Kim Woo-young of the Democratic Party and Cho Yong-woo of the Democratic Party of Korea said they did not know the exact content of the conversation because they went in only after the private dinner and summarized the main points of the presentation. Officials from both parties said on the 26th, “It appears that the two representatives had a fairly deep conversation while drinking a considerable amount of alcohol for nearly three hours.”
It is said that the meeting between representatives Lee and Cho has been promoted since early this week. It is said that CEO Lee contacted CEO Cho first, and CEO Cho accepted and quickly set up a schedule. Before the dinner the previous day, CEO Lee described CEO Cho as “a person we have a very long relationship with and know well on a daily basis.” It is said that Representative Cho had a relationship, such as helping with the Seongnam mayoral election and encouraging the Gwanghwamun hunger strike when he was a professor at Seoul National University. In fact, it is said that the atmosphere of drinking became ripe as they shared stories of the past.
There was also speculation that the fact that Representative Lee Jae-myung accepted a bilateral meeting with President Yoon Seok-yeol on the 26th could have been influenced by the dinner that day. Opposition officials also said that he would have talked candidly about pending issues such as the agenda for the summit meeting, the pan-opposition joint meeting, cooperation on the special prosecutors’ law, and the formation of a joint negotiating group. Some people say, “We talked about something more intimate than these current issues.”
Some also raised the possibility that Representatives Lee and Cho discussed constitutional amendments. An opposition party official said, “It appears that the 22nd National Assembly discussed a plan to shorten President Yoon Seok-yeol’s term and hold local and presidential elections together in 2026.” Representative Cho Kuk also raised a big wave throughout the general election and argued that ‘three years is too long.’ Recently, even Lee Jun-seok, leader of the New Reform Party, is fueling the argument for shortening the term. A political insider said, “There is a possibility that Representatives Lee and Cho, who were aware of the judicial risk, discussed ways to end President Yoon’s term before the Supreme Court ruling.”
M Chinese Restaurant, where CEOs Lee and Cho had dinner, is a top-class Chinese restaurant affiliated with a large corporation headquartered in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul. It has branches in Gangnam, Daechi, Banpo, and Pangyo, and was introduced in the Michelin Guide in the past. Dinner courses range from 90,000 to 180,000 won, and single items range from 50,000 to 100,000 won. However, a restaurant official said, “The two people ate a regular meal and we cannot say what type it was.” Baiju (白酒) also sells nearly 20 types of products, ranging from ‘Yantai’ priced at 60,000 won per 500 ml to ‘Guizhou Maotai Bichuan’ priced at 1.5 million won, but the restaurant said, “It is difficult to answer what kind of alcohol was served.” In political circles, Representative Lee is known as a ‘delicate gourmet’ and Representative Cho is known as a ‘wine lover’.
Tags: kind Kaoliang liquor Lee Jaemyeong Cho Kuk drink Restaurant
