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| President Park Geun-hye greets Saenuri Chairman Kim Moo-sung, second from left, floor leader Won Yoo-chul, third from left, and chief policymaker Kim Jung-hoon at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. / Yonhap |
Park, Saenuri to strengthen communication
By Do Je-hae
President Park Geun-hye and the new leadership of the ruling Saenuri Party agreed Thursday to grant special pardons on a "large-scale" for convicted citizens, including businesspeople.
In their meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Saenuri Chairman Rep. Kim Moo-sung asked Park to pardon convicted businesspeople, and Park accepted, the party said.
Also in attendance were the party's new floor leader Won Yoo-chul and Kim Jung-hoon, the new chief policymaker.
Earlier, Park instructed her Cabinet to start reviewing the scope for the pardons on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule on Aug. 15.
If completed, it will be the second case of pardons being granted during her term following the first raft in January 2014.
Last week, the leaders of the nation's top 30 business groups issued a joint statement calling on the government to pardon jailed executives, saying that their presence is necessary to boost investment and the economy.
The list may include SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, his younger brother and the group's vice chairman Chey Jae-won and Koo Bon-sang, vice chairman of LIG Nex1, among others.
During the meeting, Park also asked party officials to work with her to revive the country's economy.
The meeting, the first of its kind since February, is seen as a sign of improvement in relations between the presidential office and the ruling party after months of tension over a controversial bill and the consequent removal of Rep. Yoo Seong-min as chief whip.
The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) said that the meeting did little to assuage concerns that the President's autocratic ways are hampering relations between the National Assembly and the government.
"Conflict will remain as long as the President, who has ruined relations between the parties and Cheong Wa Dae, does not change," Rep. Yoo Eun-hye, a NPAD spokeswoman said in a briefing.
"We fear that that the ruling party will continue its submissive stance toward Cheong Wa Dae."
The meeting is expected to expedite regular high-level meetings between the presidential office and the ruling party.
Starting next week, a policy meeting between the two sides is likely to take place.
During the meeting, the two sides reiterated their resolution to work side by side on pending issues, including the supplementary budget for dealing with the aftermath of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and revitalizing the economy.
"We have reaffirmed the necessity of the supplementary budget bill and our party will fully support its passage during the parliamentary sessions this month," Won told reporters after the meeting.
Park has pressed the Assembly to pass an 11.8 trillion-won ($10.49 billion)extra budget bill. The supplementary budget is part of a 22 trillion-won stimulus package unveiled by the government to help revive the faltering economy.
The President met separately with Kim. The details of their meeting were not immediately known.
It was the first time they two had met face-to-face encounter since an impromptu meeting in April to discuss the fate of then-prime minister Lee Wan-koo, who had been facing calls to step down amid bribery allegations.
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