By Jun Ji-hye
President Park Geun-hye will meet leaders of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) Friday, said officials from the government and the DUP on Wednesday.
“President Park invited DUP chairman Moon Hee-sang and other leaders of the party to a dinner at Cheong Wa Dae,” presidential spokeswoman Kim Haing told reporters.
At the party’s emergency committee meeting, Rep. Moon also said, “All leaders of the DUP will have dinner with the president at Cheong Wa Dae on Friday at 6 p.m.”
It will be Park’s first meeting with opposition leaders since she was inaugurated on Feb. 25.
The President and the DUP leadership are expected to discuss security issues amid intensifying nuclear threats from North Korea.
Park will also likely ask the DUP to cooperate with her measures to revive the real estate market and drawing up a supplementary budget in the National Assembly.
Regarding these, Moon said, “The DUP is ready to actively cooperate. We will have a serious discussion to come up with measures to manage the national security crisis and stabilize people’s livelihoods.”
Given that Moon recently called for a special envoy to be dispatched to North Korea to ease inter-Korean tension, the DUP leader is expected to reiterate this to Park.
Earlier, President Park had a meeting with leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party at the presidential office Tuesday. Leadership posts including Chairman Hwang Woo-yea and Floor Leader Lee Hahn-koo participated.
Amid growing complaints about a lack of communication as apparent during the ministerial appointment fiasco, the ruling party has asked Park to increase communication between Cheong Wa Dae and the party.
In response, Park said, “I will listen more to the party from now on. I will try to achieve harmony among Cheong Wa Dae, the party and the Assembly.”
According to participants of the meeting that lasted for about two hours, Park also demanded that the ruling party pass her proposed measures to boost the real estate market announced last Monday in the parliament, stating, “Many ordinary people are suffering from real estate issues.”
This gathering also marked the first meeting between Park and the ruling party since she was inaugurated.
On Feb. 7, Park, then president-elect, met heads of the ruling and main opposition parties at an emergency security meeting to discuss how to cope with Pyongyang’s threatened third nuclear test, which subsequently took place on Feb. 12.