Last Friday’s Blue House luncheon attended by 17 business leaders and heads of Centers for Creative Economy and Innovation supported by their companies was an occasion for the corporate top brass to talk directly with President Park Geun-hye.

The luncheon meeting, held to celebrate the recent opening of the last of the creative economy centers in Incheon -- there are now 18 such centers -- lasted more than three hours, a sign that there was a lot of talk at the meeting.

Entering the last half of her five-year term, Park has been aggressively pushing her creative economy agenda, attending nearly all creative economy center openings across the country. At the largest gathering of business leaders at the Blue House, she promoted her pet agenda -- tying it to solving the youth unemployment problem. And it was not a difficult idea to sell.

“Creative ideas of start-ups are supported by big firms, and their success story will also inspire your business,” Park said at the luncheon meeting, telling the business leaders that the “virtuous circle” will help the Korean economy “fend off challenges.”

Huh Chang-soo, GS Group chairman and head of the Federation of Korean Industries, a chaebol and large businesses lobby, pledged to create jobs for young people by supporting venture firms. Altogether, the businesses pledged to invest some 2 trillion won toward the related projects over the next five years, according to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.

Park, who has been campaigning hard for her creative economy agenda, must be pleased with the outcome of Friday’s luncheon. However, the closed-door meeting garnered public interest more so because of the upcoming presidential pardon rather than any investment plans.

Ever since Park told her aides to review the scope and candidates for presidential pardon to mark the 70th anniversary of liberation on Aug. 15, there has been much speculation whether the list would include chaebol chiefs.

While the issue of presidential pardon was not raised during the meeting, it has been reported that the FKI presented a letter to President Park proposing presidential pardons, mentioning SK Chairman Chey Tae-won and Hanwha Group chairman Kim Seung-youn. Kim, who received a five-year suspended sentence, was present at Friday’s luncheon, which has been interpreted by some observers as an indication that Park may indeed issue presidential pardons for convicted business leaders.

Indeed, it appears that the Blue House, the Saenuri Party and the business community are engaged in a delicate dance. Park ordered her aides to look into presidential pardons on July 13 during a Cabinet meeting and when the Saenuri Party leadership called on her on June 16, the ruling party chairman Kim Moo-sung suggested presidential pardons for businessmen.

On July 22, Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Park Yong-maan said it would be “reverse discrimination” to exclude business leaders from presidential pardon, specifically mentioning SK Group chief Chey and Hanwha Group chairman Kim. On July 23, FKI Chairman Huh noted that the group was preparing a letter to the president proposing presidential pardons for businessmen.

It is an odd dance that the businesses, the Saenuri Party, and the Blue House are dancing. Business interest groups openly lobbying for pardons of chaebol leaders is an unseemly behavior. What makes the dance even more grotesque is that Park appears to be dangling presidential pardons as an incentive for increased investments by chaebols.

Given the current economic slump, such a deal could be a win-win for both sides. However, the Blue House and the conglomerates should pay heed to a recent poll which found 54 percent of those surveyed were opposed to pardons for convicted businessmen. In doing their dance, the Blue House, the Saenuri Party, and businesses should exercise discretion.