By Kim Hyo-jin
The second-largest opposition People’s Party is apparently showing a conciliatory gesture toward the ruling camp apparently due to negative public sentiment in its strongholds because of its attacks on President Moon Jae-in.
The People’s Party interim leader Park Joo-sun dismissed the possibility of forming a united front against the government with other opposition parties.
“The ruling party can’t do anything alone with only 120 parliamentary seats. If the opposition parties do not help, the operation of the National Assembly will end up fruitless and lethargic,” he said during a radio interview with BBS.
“The current legislative landscape needs a shift. Opposition parties should not just oppose the ruling bloc unconditionally, like typical opposition parties did in the past.”
This move comes as the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) has sharply clashed with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) over the Moon Jae-in government’s first supplementary budget bill for job creation.
The LKP refused to review the bill, saying job creation was not a valid reason to draft an extra budget.
The People’s Party backed the DPK, saying it would not oppose dealing with the extra budget bill though suggesting that the government clarify how it will guarantee the financial sustainability of increased public jobs.
It raised the possibility of the Assembly passing the budget bill despite the LKP’s protest.
The partisan conflicts have been strong since the President appointed Kang Kyung-wha as the foreign minister despite the LKP’s strong objection, Monday.
The opposition parties denounced Moon for pushing ahead with the appointment saying Kang was involved in allegations of irregularities including a false residential registration so her daughter could attend the school of her choice.
The LKP and the minor opposition Bareun Party boycotted parliamentary sessions scheduled to set the date for confirmation hearings of minister nominees.
Even then, the People’s Party took a different path from the other opposition parties.
With members of the conservative parties absent, People’s Party lawmakers attended the meeting of the National Assembly’s Land Committee Wednesday, and adopted an outcome report of the confirmation hearing of Kim Hyun-mee, a DPK lawmaker who was nominated as land minister, a procedure to offer parliamentary approval.
The People’s Party’s independent move took away the momentum of the other two parties. They decided Thursday to attend the parliamentary committee meetings and discuss schedules for the hearings of the remaining minister nominees.
Analysts say the party’s stance is aimed at courting its supporters in the Jeolla region, its home ground. It cannot risk lowering its support in the Jeolla provinces by sharply confronting the government when Moon enjoys high popularity there.
In the latest Realmeter poll, the DPK garnered support of 64.9 percent while the People’s Party’s rate stood at 14.2 percent in the Jeolla region. Moon’s support was 84.2 percent, the highest of all the regions when his national average is 75.6 percent.
The People’s Party cannot be a too strong opposition group considering the public sentiment in its stronghold, according to senior analyst Hwang Tae-soon.
The party secured 23 out of 28 parliamentary seats in the Jeolla region, the liberal stronghold, in the April 13 general elections in 2016, emerging as powerful force with overwhelming support. But in the May 9 presidential election, its candidate Ahn Cheol-soo suffered a crushing defeat against Moon of the DPK.