President to Strengthen Internal Communication
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak has invited ruling party leaders, including former Chairwoman Park Geun-hye, for a luncheon at Cheong Wa Dae on Jan. 30.
Lee proposed the meeting to discuss ways to strengthen communication between Cheong Wa Dae and the Grand National Party (GNP) over his reform agenda, according to a presidential spokesmen and party officials.
But a lot of attention is being paid not to the meeting but to whether Lee and Park will get together for the first time since their one-on-one talk last May. They only greeted each other during Lee's welcoming reception for visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao at Cheong Wa Dae last August.
Lee badly needs Park's cooperation for the passage of his reform bills at the National Assembly and to find a way out of the political deadlock, but Park has indicated that she will follow her own path.
During a recent gathering of GNP heavyweights, Park said, ``It is wrong for the president to press ahead with the plans to which most people are opposed,'' referring to the bill on allowing conglomerates and newspapers to own public broadcasters.
Her comments drew sharp criticism from pro-Lee lawmakers. The governing party eventually failed to railroad reform bills at the past Assembly session amid brawls with opposition parties.
The party plans to put the bills up for a vote at the next session in February and secure a majority in order to push them through. But it would prove impossible if more than 30 lawmakers affiliated with the former chairwoman aren't signed up to the cause.
Some political observers predict President Lee will try to restore his relationship with Park, and the Jan. 30 meeting at Cheong Wa Dae will be a good opportunity.
``Lee is expected to emphasize unity in the ruling camp and ask for help from party leaders to tide over the economic crisis,'' a GNP lawmaker said on condition of anonymity. ``The problem, however, is that Park feels she is not treated fairly, and her political friends still regard Lee as a threat.''
Park once publicly denounced Lee over the GNP decision not to give tickets to some of her key aides to run for the National Assembly elections last April, saying, ``Lee betrayed my trust.''
Park's aides believe Lee was behind the decision and that it was aimed at weakening Park's influence in the ruling party. The aides deserted the party and formed the Pro-Park Geun-hye Alliance for the elections.
After the elections, the prosecution launched an investigation into the head of the alliance, Suh Chung-won, over corruption allegations.
Analysts predict President Lee may offer an olive branch by offering some posts to Park's aides in a Cabinet reshuffle planned after Lunar New Year's Day on Jan. 26. Park herself is said to be one of the top candidates to become the next prime minister.