By Jun Ji-hye
The newly elected floor leader of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) said Monday that he will adopt a softer stance toward President-elect Park Geun-hye and the ruling Saenuri Party.
Rep. Park Ki-choon, who was elected to the post Friday, proposed the new policy promising a cooperative relationship with the ruling party and new government.
“We do not want to drag the new government down,” he said on MBC radio.
“We are not intending to apply the brakes on the incoming government.”
His statement comes amid a growing sense of crisis within the DUP in the wake of its defeat in the presidential election.
There have been growing calls for the DUP to take reformative measures as it largely failed to earn support from the older generation, especially those in their 50s, in the Dec. 19 election.
On the other hand, the DUP said it will not let up on the issue of the President-elect’s selection of her transition team.
The opposition has called for the withdrawal of four recent appointees to the transition team, including chief spokesman Yoon Chang-jung.
The floor leader said, “The transition team is not a just a meeting of friends. Park needs to replace the controversial four members in order to improve the relationship between the ruling and the opposition parties because we have a lot to deal with together at the Assembly.”
Yoon has been embroiled in controversy over his choice of harsh language directed against the DUP.
As the criticism mounted, the Saenuri Party responded by changing Yoon’s title on Monday from Park’s chief spokesman to spokesman for the transition team.
When announcing the formation of the transition team, its chairman, Kim Yong-joon, stressed that its members will return to their respective fields once the transition process is over.
The other three figures that the DUP is resisting are Kim Kyung-jae, vice chairman of the national unity committee and Youn Sang-kyu, Neowiz Games CEO, and Ha Ji-won, president of Ecomom Korea were tapped as committee members for youth affairs.