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Park accepts offer of political talks

By Choi He-suk 

President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday suggested expanded talks with the leaders of the ruling and main opposition parties, in effect agreeing to Saeunri Party Chairman Rep. Hwang Woo-yea’s suggestion made Monday.

“(The president) suggests five-person talks, including the ruling and opposition floor leaders as there are many issues within the parliament,” new presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon said.

Kim Ki-choon also said that Park suggested meeting the parties’ leaders on several occasions, and that she considers it regretful that she has been able to meet only with the ruling party’s chairman due to DP’s refusal.

On Monday, Hwang suggested that Park meet with himself and DP chairman Rep. Kim Han-gil as an alternative to the one-on-one meeting between the president and the DP leader.

Saenuri Party’s floor leader is Rep. Choi Kyung-hwan, a key member of the pro-Park faction, while the post of DP floor leader is held by hardliner Rep. Jun Byung-hun.

The DP, which had stated that it will agree to the three-way talks suggested by Hwang if Cheong Wa Dae makes an offer, took a reserved position on the issue, saying that the matter needs consideration.

“Kim Han-gil said that he will not be tied down by protocol but the five-way talks is completely different (to Kim’s suggestion),” Rep. Noh Woong-rae, the DP chairman’s chief aide, was quoted as saying by a local news agency.

Although the president’s suggestion could set the stage for resolving the bipartisan deadlock, it comes only hours after Park turned up the heat on the DP.

At Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Park chose to speak about the missing 2007 inter-Korean transcript, without any mention of the parliamentary probe on the National Intelligence Service.

“The unprecedented case of important national records evaporating was an incident that shook the nation’s foundations and erased history. It was an incident that should never happen,” Park said.

While the parliamentary probe into the NIS was launched over allegations of election interference, the ruling party had repeatedly highlighted the 2007 summit in what the DP refers to as an attempt to “water down” the issue.

Following months of accusations from both sides, the parties agreed to view the transcript of the summit to determine whether or not late President Roh Moo-hyun denied the validity of the Northern Limit Line. However, the records were found to be missing, leading to a spin-off controversy with each side accusing the other of removing the document from the National Archives.

As for the parliamentary investigation, the two parties are said to be close to agreeing to an extension of eight days with the DP compromising on the list of witnesses for the time being.

If a final agreement is reached, the probe will continue until Aug. 23, and former NIS chief Won Sei-hoon and former Seoul police chief Kim Yong-pan will be called to the stand.

Saenuri Party’s Rep. Kim Moo-sung and Korean Ambassador to China Kwon Young-se, who played critical roles in the president’s election campaign, will not be included in the initial list.

The DP, however, plans to push to have the two former campaign aides summoned to the hearing in the remaining days.

As for the NIS’ briefing session on Monday, NIS chief Nam Jae-joon told the lawmakers that he made the decision to disclose the spy agency’s version of the summit records and that he considers Roh’s words to have effectively been a concession of the NLL.

“There wasn’t a statement giving up the NLL (by Roh) but as he agreed with Kim Jong-il’s call to abolish the NLL, (I) regard (Roh’s comments) as giving up the NLL,” Nam was quoted as saying by Saenuri Party and DP lawmakers who attended the session.



(cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)