By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak is mulling over holding a meeting with leaders of the governing and opposition parties, a Cheong Wa Dae official said Wednesday.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) accepted a proposal from the governing Grand National Party (GNP) earlier in the day to hold a three-way meeting with the President to resolve the impasse over deliberations on the government's budget proposal for next year.
President Lee is positively considering attending the meeting, which, if held, will likely take place after he returns from a three-day trip to Copenhagen, Denmark, for the U.N. climate summit, presidential spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said.
She said Cheong Wa Dae welcomes the invitation, but will make a decision after the two parties draw up an agenda.
The meeting will involve GNP Chairman Rep. Chung Mong-joon and DP Chairman Rep. Chung Sye-kyun.
Opposition parties have boycotted deliberations on the administration's 291.8-trillion-won ($250.1 billion) budget for 2010, reiterating their objections to revising the Sejong City plan as well as a four-river refurbishment project.
The National Assembly was unable to meet the Dec. 2 deadline for budget deliberations, mainly because of political squabbles over expenditures for the latter plan.
GNP Chairman Chung proposed that leaders of the two parties and the President should meet to resolve pending political issues through dialogue.
Chung said he was willing to meet them at any place, saying, "It does not necessarily have to be at Cheong Wa Dae."
DP floor leader Lee Kang-rae also hinted at the possibility of a parliamentary breakthrough.
"The DP is not opposing the four-river project for the sake of opposing it," he said, adding that the door for negotiations was always open.
The DP official said the party shared the need to improve the nation's river system, though it opposes a budget linked to creating a cross-country canal.
President Lee has given up his campaign pledge to create an inland canal connecting southern and northern rivers due to strong public opposition amid rising questions over the plausibility of the project. The DP suspects the river work could be a prelude to resuming the Grand Canal project.
DP spokesman Woo Sang-ho said his party hoped to use the opportunity to convince the President to slash the budget for the restoration of the four rivers.
Woo, however, expressed his disappointment with GNP Chairman Chung's failure to reach an agreement on details of the meeting.
Cheong Wa Dae sources said the GNP's offer for the three-way talks was not negotiated with the presidential office in advance.
However, the gathering might not take place as the President may demand the exclusion of the four-river project from the agenda as a precondition, according to another Cheong Wa Dae official.