Regular meeting with president will support Saenuri's new leadership

President Park Geun-hye will invite the newly-elected leadership of the ruling Saenuri Party, including party leader Lee Jung-hyun, to the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae for a luncheon meeting. It is no doubt that the president must have satisfied and reassured after her loyal aide’s victory in a party election amid snarky comments ridiculing him as a pitiful eunuch of the president. The new leader of the ruling party, after paying his respects at the Seoul National Cemetery, said that preparation for next year’s presidential election is important but the party will concentrate more on solving a series of national issues of our times in the fields of livelihood, economy and security with the president, who has about one year and a half left in her term, at the center of its efforts while trying to set approaches in a way that would meet the needs of the public.

It seemed that the president had nowhere to lean on after an epic defeat in the April 13 general elections. The rowdy fight over poor ratings between pro-Park and non-Park factions within the divisive party never ceased, leaving no forecast of reconciliation. The president even faced backlash against her push for the construction of Gimhae new airport and the deployment of a U.S. missile shield called THAAD from lawmakers based in Daegu and North Gyeongsang region, a stronghold of the conservative ruling party. The president appeared at the party's national convention and urged the party members to stay united. Her support of Lee could be interpreted that she is hoping for the party’s continuous assistance as he moves forward.

Lee’s victory is the result of overwhelming supports from the pro-Park loyalists at the end of the party election. Unfortunately, the non-Park faction’s uneasy feeling never disappeared. Lee, three-time lawmaker hailed from the Honam region, must cut his ties with Cheong Wa Dae if he wants to embrace the divisive stance within his party. To evolve from a tainted image as a party under President Park’s control, he should never make a mistake of following the footsteps of Kim Moo-sung, the former leader of the party, who emphasized the importance of horizontal relationship and abandoned his responsibility while being too careful to read the president’s intention.

Kim Jong-in, the Minjoo Party's emergency committee chairman, after receiving a visit from Lee Wednesday, gave a sharp advice that the responsibility of coordination between the presidential office and the ruling party now falls on him, while reminding the new leader of the ruling party about a new political landscape where the opposition party having more seats in the National Assembly. Lee may have some limitations as he served the president as a secretary. However, the bigger opposition party members will consider him as a genuine partner to negotiate only if he provides momentum to fix the stretched relationship between Cheong Wa Dae and the ruling party. As the leader of the Minjoo party demanded, a meeting between the president and the leader of the ruling party should be arranged on a regular basis and that should be institutionalized. The president had a private meeting with former party leader Kim only once after the Sewol ferry incident and the cacophony between Cheong Wa Dae and the ruling party never stopped.

Above all, replacement of Woo Byung-woo, the senior presidential secretary for civil affair, and some of the other scandalous ministers are examples of issues that are taking too long to come to a final decision. If Lee helps facilitate the pending reshuffle of the administration, the public would recognize and welcome the new relationship between Cheong Wa Dae and the Saenuri Party.