DP snubs President's counter-offer
By Kim Tae-gyu
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) Tuesday refused Cheong Wa Dae’s offer for an expanded bipartisan meeting, adhering to its original proposal of one-on-one talks between its Chairman Kim Han-gil and President Park Geun-hye.
Earlier in the day, the presidential house made a counterproposal for the expanded bipartisan meeting, taking up a call from rival parties for a meeting with President Park to resolve a political stalemate.
Additional to the chairmen of the governing Saenuri Party and the DP, Cheong Wa Dae asked that the floor leaders of the two parties also be included in a meeting with President Park.
“For the sake of state affairs and the stability of people’s lives, we have no reason to decline any forms of dialogue. But we don’t think Cheong Wa Dae properly knows how severe the situation is and how to deal with it,” DP floor leader Jun Byung-hun was quoted as saying by spokesman Chyung Ho-joon.
“To resolve things, the meeting between Chairman Kim and President Park has to come first for heart-to-heart talks so that they will be able to exchange views with each other and find the solution just as Kim initially proposed.”
Cheong Wa Dae declined to make a response to the DP’s announcement.
DP Chairman Kim demanded last week a one-on-one meeting with President Park to grapple with political standoffs involving the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
The DP has asked for an early and thorough investigation into suspicions that the spy agency meddled in last year’s presidential election by posting online messages critical of opposition candidates.
After a disagreement over which witnesses to call, the party opted to take to the streets by setting up headquarters in Seoul Plaza in front of Seoul City Hall under the stewardship of Chairman Kim.
A major bone of contention is whether to summon Rep. Kim Moo-sung of the Saenuri Party and Ambassador to China Kwon Young-se — while claiming their involvement in the case, the DP is strongly asking for their presence but the Saenuri Party has flatly rebuffed such calls.
In response to the request for a meeting between Park and Kim, Saenuri Party Chairman Hwang Woo-yea came up with an offer Monday of a three-way meeting between the two and himself.
The requests led to Cheong Wa Dae’s counteroffer of the five-way meeting that was rejected by the DP.
“Recently, both the opposition and ruling parties proposed talks. She has regretted that she could not meet them together,” Park’s Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon told a press conference.
“The President thinks positively of the requests for the meeting aimed at exchanging opinions on various state affairs. But as the pending issues are mostly parliamentary concerns, she proposes a five-way meeting including the floor leaders of the two parties.”