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| Hong Joon-pyo, chairman of the conservative Liberty Korea Party, speaks at the party's regular meeting, Friday. / Yonhap |
By Choi Ha-young
President Moon Jae-in plans to meet the leaders of major political parties next week to discuss political issues and to share information about North Korea.
Cheong Wa Dae said Friday Moon would invite party leaders to brief them on the diplomatic talks held around the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The chairman of the main opposition party, the Liberty Korea Party (LKP), Hong Joon-pyo, said he would boycott the meeting if his conditions were not met.
The planned luncheon is likely to take place on March 7, before the PyeongChang Paralympics opening ceremony on March 9. The meeting will focus on any developments in inter-Korean contacts and the possibility of dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.
On Thursday, presidential press secretary Yoon Young-chan revealed a plan to send a special envoy to North Korea, in a bid to facilitate nuclear negotiation between the U.S. and North Korea.
If Hong refuses to join the meeting, as he did last July and September, the chiefs of the four other parties ― the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), the centrist Bareun Mirae Party (BMP), the minor liberal Party for Democracy and Peace (PDP) and the progressive Justice Party ― will attend the meeting, a Cheong Wa Dae official was quoted as saying, Friday.
The LKP chief has shown a negative attitude toward meetings hosted by President Moon Jae-in. "As a condition of the participation, we made counter proposals," Hong said Friday. "First, the meeting should only deal with the security issues. Issues like constitutional revision or economy are supposed to be handled by floor leaders, rather than party leaders."
"Secondly, the President should not notify unilaterally. It is pointless to listen to unilateral briefings. Lastly, the President should only invite parties that are able to form negotiation bodies."
The two liberal parties ― 14-seat PDP and the six-seat Justice Party ― are not qualified to form negotiation bodies that require at least 20 lawmakers.
Despite Hong's attempt to take the initiative in the talks, the government is unlikely to exclude the minor liberal parties because they could be allies in pushing through the ruling camp's reformist bills.
Last July, Hong boycotted a luncheon at Cheong Wa Dae, citing the Moon administration's "flip-flop" on the KORUS FTA. "If I begin to talk about the free trade agreement with Moon, I will have no choice but to get angry," Hong said at the time.
In September, Hong again refused to participate in a meeting, calling for one-on-one talks with Moon.
The largest conservative LKP has boycotted parliamentary affairs several times. When a North Korean delegation led by Kim Yong-chol, Workers' Party of Korea's Unified Front Department chief, visited, LKP lawmakers refused to attend parliamentary committee meetings, taking issue with Kim's alledged role in Cheonan sinking.
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