Published : Aug. 11, 2016 - 09:32
President Park Geun-hye will host a luncheon with the new Saenuri Party leadership on Thursday to congratulate them on their election and call for their support for her government's management of state affairs, her office Cheong Wa Dae said.
The gathering will be 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.
President Park Geun-hye (right) shakes hands with new Saenuri Party leader Rep. Lee Jung-hyun before her luncheon with the ruling party's newly elected leadership at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Aug. 11. (Yonhap)The new leadership, which was elected at the party's national convention on Tuesday, is comprised mostly of those loyal to Park -- a reason why pundits say that the president can tighten her grip on the party, and that the relationship between the party and the presidential office will improve.
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 is 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)