Amid the investigation into corruption-ridden presidential aides and the prolonged political deadlock, restoring state affairs has become a top priority for both the presidential office and the opposition.

The key to achieving this lies in the incoming prime minister, who will likely assume a considerable amount of presidential power in response to public calls for reform.

The conflict over the appointment of the prime minister peaked Wednesday as Cheong Wa Dae reiterated that it was now the legislature’s role to suggest a valid candidate, while the opposition demanded for President Park Geun-hye’s explicit consent to a partial renunciation of her power.

For the Blue House, which has for weeks been weighed down by the snowballing corruption scandal centering on the president’s confidante Choi Soon-sil, this new gridlock may be considered momentum to recover its political grip.

It may also be seen as an opportunity to lay political liability on the opposition parties, stressing the urgent need to re-establish a new Cabinet.

As for the opposition camp, Cheong Wa Dae’s stance meant that their call to reduce presidential power -- be it resignation, defection from the ruling Saenuri Party or transfer of power to the incoming prime minister -- will likely remain up in the air for a while.

“What the president meant was that (she) will vouch for the (new) prime minister’s authority to control the Cabinet, to appoint ministers and to demand for their dismissal, all of which are stated in the Constitution,” said Bae Sung-rye, the new senior presidential secretary for public relations.

The press chief’s explanation came after the president’s surprise visit to the National Assembly the previous day, during which she requested that the legislature recommend a new prime minister candidate, effectively consenting to withdrawing her earlier appointment of Kim Byong-joon.

Though Kim was considered a likely figure, embraced by both the ruling and the opposition camps, his designation had been under fire for lacking prior consultation with political parties.

While vowing to accept the parliament’s choice for the top post, the presidential office also made it clear that the president will not step down from power as the opposition demands.

“If the Assembly comes up with a well-qualified person (as prime minister), the president will certainly make the appointment,” said a Blue House official, in answer to a question on whether the president will be entitled to veto the parliament’s candidate recommendation.

But as for the opposition’s growing calls that the president should take a back seat in state affairs, the official expressed stern disapproval.

“It is unfit to tell the president to halt her duty of state management,” the official said.

“With crucial events such as the US presidential election and its consequent impact on our economy, the suspension of the government would be an unfortunate thing to happen.”

Another Cheong Wa Dae official also added that it is against the Constitution to hand over all of the president’s commanding rights to the prime minister.

Despite the presidential office’s emphasis that the prime minister will indeed hold all practical control over the Cabinet, the series of defensive remarks added to the suspicion that the president has no intention to release her grip on state affairs.

It was upon such awareness that the opposition camp -- the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, the runner-up People’s Party and the progressive minority Justice Party -- agreed in a trilateral meeting to halt the process of finding a prime minister candidate.

The three parties also pledged to participate in the upcoming candlelight rally Saturday evening, signaling that they will stand by the still angered public instead of politically compromising with the president.

Their joint claim was that despite her apparent conciliatory gesture, Park has not specified whether she will indeed fully entrust the incoming prime minister with power, which would then inevitably mean a regression of the presidential power.

By Bae Hyun-jung ()


koreaherald@heraldcorp.com