SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Emboldened by his party’s recent election win, South Korea’s opposition leader Lee Jae-myung pressured President Yoon Suk Yeol to accept special investigations into allegations involving top officials and his wife, as they met Monday for talks on bipartisan cooperation.
The meeting was their first since Yoon, a conservative former top prosecutor, took office in 2022 after defeating Lee, a liberal former provincial governor, in the country’s closest presidential election race. During their 2022 campaigns, Yoon, Lee and their supporters demonized each other and filed dozens of lawsuits against one another.
Yoon proposed the meeting as he faces growing calls to cooperate with Lee’s Democratic Party, whose victory in the April 10 parliamentary election allows it to extend its control of the single-chamber National Assembly until after Yoon’s single five-year term ends in 2027.
In his lengthy opening remarks, Lee, now the Democratic Party chairman, said the election results mean “the people’s stern demand for correcting wrong government administrations,” addressing economic troubles and restoring democratic rules.
Lee urged Yoon to accept independent probes into the 2022 Halloween crush in Seoul that killed 159 people, and the 2023 death of a marine who drowned during a search-and-rescue operation for flood victims. Lee’s party has accused Yoon of ignoring public demands and retaining top officials and military commanders responsible for the deadly incidents.
Lee also asked Yoon to resolve “diverse suspicions involving his family” that “poses a big burden on government operations.” That was apparently a reference to first lady Kim Keon Hee, who faces an allegation of involvement in a stock price manipulation and other scandals.
“I’d say it would be good for you, as president, to respect the National Assembly and consider the opposition party as a partner for government operations,” Lee said.
While listening to Lee's statement, Yoon nodded several times and said he had expected Lee to make such comments but didn’t elaborate. Their meeting was closed to media after Lee and Yoon's opening remarks.
Senior presidential adviser Lee Do-woon said after the meeting that Yoon told Lee that he won’t oppose a special law to investigate the Halloween deaths. But he said that concerns over the powers of an ad-hoc investigation committee must be resolved first. Yoon and Lee didn't discuss Lee's demands for other probes, according to Yoon's office.
During the meeting, Lee also asked Yoon to accept his contentious idea of the government giving 250,000 won (about $180) to all South Koreans as a way to boost the economy, a step that Yoon’s party has called a populist measure. Lee Do-woon, the presidential adviser, said Yoon said that he prefers selectively supporting those in need.
In a separate briefing, Democratic Party spokesperson Park Sung-joon accused Yoon of lacking the resolve to revive public livelihoods. Park cited Lee as suggesting he was disappointed at the meeting’s results though the start of direct communication with Yoon would still be meaningful.
No agreement was reached, but Yoon’s office said the president and Lee agreed to meet again, without setting a date.
In one positive news for bipartisan cooperation, Lee told Yoon that his party would support the government’s high-stakes push to increase medical school students, which prompted thousands of young doctors to walk out of the job in February. The government recently suggested it’s open to halving its target medical school enrollment increase to 1,000 next year from the previously proposed 2,000, but doctors say they can’t accept any increase in students.
Yoon has said South Korea needs to create more doctors as it has one of the world’s most rapidly aging populations and its doctors-to-patient ratio is among the lowest in advanced economies. Doctors say schools can’t deal with a too steep increase in students, but critics say they simply worry the supply of more doctors would eventually result in lowering their income.
The parliamentary election was seen as a litmus test of Yoon, who has been struggling with low approval rating and an opposition-controlled parliament that has limited his policy agenda since his inauguration. Critics say the election defeat was largely attributable to the government’s failure to suppress rising prices and other economic problems and Yoon’s personal management and leadership styles.
Despite the election defeat, Yoon’s major foreign policy agendas will likely remain unchanged as they mostly don’t require parliamentary endorsements. Yoon has pushed hard to boost cooperation with the United States and Japan to cope with North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats and other challenges.
During Monday's meeting, Yoon and Lee didn't have meaningful exchange of opinions on North Korea and other foreign policy issues, according to Yoon's office.
People watch a TV screen showing South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, meeting with main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
People watch a TV screen showing South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, meeting with main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, talks with main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung during a meeting at the presidential office in Seoul South Korea, Monday, April 29, 2024. (Hong Hae-in/Yonhap via AP)
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, shakes hands with main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung during a meeting at the presidential office in Seoul South Korea, Monday, April 29, 2024. (Hong Hae-in/Yonhap via AP)
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Chris Kreider had a third-period hat trick to help the New York Rangers erase a two-goal deficit and beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 in Game 6 on Thursday night to advance to the Eastern Conference Final.
Kreider single-handedly erased the Hurricanes' 3-1 lead entering the final period. The go-ahead score came when he got position on Jalen Chatfield at the top of the crease and tipped in Ryan Lindgren's pass to make it 4-3 with at the 15:41 mark.
That finally allowed the Presidents' Trophy-winning Rangers to put away the Hurricanes, who had won two straight after falling into a 3-0 hole in the best-of-7 series. The Hurricanes appeared on the verge of forcing a Game 7 for a pressure-packed finale, but couldn't contain Kreider and the Rangers' surge in the final 14 minutes.
Barclay Goodrow finished this one off by getting to a loose puck near the boards and scoring a long empty-net goal in the final minute, sending Goodrow to the nearby Rangers bench to be mobbed by teammates.
That sent the Rangers on to the Eastern Conference Final to face the Boston-Florida winner, with the Panthers leading that series 3-2.
Kreider’s first goal came when he cleaned up a stop by Frederik Andersen on Mika Zibanejad at the 6:43 mark to make it 3-2. He followed by tipping in a shot by Artemi Panarin to tie it at the 11:54 mark.
Igor Shesterkin hung in after a pressured first two periods, finishing with 33 saves and coming up with a big stop on Jordan Staal near the crease and another tying chance from Andrei Svechnikov off a faceoff win in the third period.
Vincent Trocheck also scored off a deflection in the second period for New York.
Martin Necas, Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho scored for Carolina, while Andersen finished with 19 saves.
The Hurricanes also missed on multiple late chances to increase their lead, with Jordan Martinook — who had a highlight-reel sliding effort to knock away a loose puck from the goal line midway through the second period — and Jake Guentzel each pinging the metal past Shesterkin to come up empty.
There was also a big opportunity in the third when two Rangers collided and fell to the ice in their own end, leaving top Carolina center Sebastian Aho with a 1-on-1 chance on Shesterkin. But as Aho skated in from the left circle, he went wide right of the net as he tried to move to his backhand.
Those missed chances added up to a brutal exit for the Hurricanes, a team that was in the playoffs for the sixth time in as many seasons under Rod Brind'Amour and has been open about the goal of breaking through to win the Stanley Cup.
Carolina finished three points behind the Rangers for the Presidents’ Trophy awarded to the top team in the regular-season standings, and entered the NHL playoffs as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup, according to Bet MGM Sportsbook. But the Rangers won the first three games by one-goal margins — two coming in overtime — to threaten an unexpectedly quick resolution.
Carolina successfully beat back their power-play struggles for the Game 4 winner to stay alive, then rallied from a 1-0 deficit with four straight third-period goals to win Game 5 in Madison Square Garden and bring the series back to Raleigh.
But days later, the Rangers returned the favor with four straight of their own in the third, leaving a boisterous Hurricanes crowd in stunned disbelief.
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Carolina Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho (20) celebrates his goal, next to New York Rangers' Jimmy Vesey (26) during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
Carolina Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho (20) celebrates his goal against the New York Rangers during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
New York Rangers' Vincent Trocheck (16) controls the puck in front of Carolina Hurricanes' Jaccob Slavin during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
New York Rangers' Barclay Goodrow (21) moves the puck around Carolina Hurricanes' Dmitry Orlov (7) during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
New York Rangers' Jonny Brodzinski (22) moves the puck around Carolina Hurricanes' Tony DeAngelo (77) during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
Carolina Hurricanes' Brady Skjei (76) protects the puck from New York Rangers' Barclay Goodrow (21) during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
New York Rangers' Ryan Lindgren (55) lands on top of Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
Carolina Hurricanes' Martin Necas (88) shoots against New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) blocks a Carolina Hurricanes shot during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
Carolina Hurricanes' Frederik Andersen (31) blocks the shot of New York Rangers' Mika Zibanejad, right rear, as Chris Kreider (20) waits for a rebound with Hurricanes' Seth Jarvis (24) nearby during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
New York Rangers' Mika Zibanejad, back right, and Vincent Trocheck (16) celebrate a goal by Chris Kreider on Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen during the third period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
New York Rangers' Chris Kreider, second from right, celebrates his goal against the Carolina Hurricanes with teammates during the third period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
