The ruling Saenuri Party’s floor leader Lee Hahn-koo proposed cutting the number of parliamentary members on Thursday, co-opting a key political reform proposal the opposition has been dithering over.

The main opposition Democratic United Party welcomed the proposal calling for forming a special parliamentary committee to promote other steps for political reform.

“We propose reducing the number of National Assembly members to a reasonable level through consensus among the rival parties,” Lee said at a press conference held after a meeting with Ahn Dae-hee, head of the party’s Central Election Committee’s political reform team.

Reducing the number of Assembly seats has been one of the standout proposals presented by former independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo.

The Saenuri Party’s proposal was seen as a move to attract Ahn’s supporters, many of whom have been undecided since his departure from the race, while the main opposition Democratic United Party had been preoccupied with its struggle to bring Ahn into their campaign.

The move also outshone Moon’s change of stance later in the day, when he pledged to “adjust through reduction” the number of lawmakers, as proposed by Ahn.

The two had clashed over the issue in their failed negotiations on a unified candidacy. Moon initially supported raising the number of proportional lawmakers.

The DUP agreed to the Saenuri proposal but stressed that it was initiated by the opposition candidates.

“We welcomed the Saenuri’s announcement that it will accept various reform proposals by the DUP,” Park Ki-choon, deputy floor leader of the liberal party.

But he said the bipartisan talks should cover a broader set of measures including redistricting electorates and increasing proportional representative seats. He proposed a new committee to deal with the issues.

The Saenuri’s Lee also suggested a gathering of floor leaders among the rival parties, to immediately implement the 30 percent cut in lawmakers’ allowance proposed by the DUP, and to cut the expenditure altogether for periods where lawmakers have done no work as suggested by the Saenuri Party.

“Let us pass the measures that the rival parties and presidential candidates already agree on before the presidential election,” Lee said.

The Saenuri Party’s candidate Park Geun-hye had agreed to Moon’s suggestion during their first debate on Tuesday to expedite the passage of political reform bills.

For areas that the rivals differ on, Lee suggested setting up a special committee inviting neutral external figures to continue their discussion.

Lee further pressed the DUP to cooperate in passing the budget for next year if they were to pass various bills including the 30 percent cut in allowances, which must be reflected in the budget plan as well.

The DUP submitted the bill on the 30 percent cut on Dec. 3, which the Saenuri Party at the time denounced it as a mere gesture to solicit Ahn’s support.

By Lee Joo-hee (jhl@heraldcorp.com)