Park hosts luncheon with new Saenuri Party leadership

President Park Geun-hye on Thursday hosted a luncheon with the new Saenuri Party leadership to congratulate them on their election and call for their support in the management of state affairs, her office Cheong Wa Dae said.

The gathering was attended by new party leader Rep. Lee Jung-hyun, floor leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk, policy chief Rep. Kim Gwang-lim and other members of the party's decision-making Supreme Council.

The new leadership, which was elected at the party's national convention on Tuesday, is comprised mostly of those loyal to Park, which has fueled speculation that the president will be able to tighten her grip over the party, and that the relationship between Saenuri and the presidential office should improve going forward.

In particular, new party chief Lee, who served as Park's senior secretary for political affairs and public relations between 2013 and 2014, is one of the president's most trusted confidants.

During the luncheon, Park was expected to call on the new leadership to promote unity in the party long mired in factional strife, and to help the government tackle a series of economic and security challenges facing the country. (Yonhap)