President Park Geun-hye is trying to patch things up with the two main political parties, timing her approach with heightened calls for teamwork against security threats from North Korea and ahead of the parliament’s review of her major bills.

After hosting an undisclosed dinner with the leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party on Tuesday, Park invited National Assembly speakers for a luncheon on Wednesday.

The president will then break bread with the main opposition Democratic United Party on Friday. These are the first such meetings since she entered Cheong Wa Dae.

“The entire leadership of the opposition party will be having dinner with President Park and her aides at 6 p.m. (on the 12th),” said DUP interim chief Moon Hee-sang at a party meeting.

Cheong Wa Dae sources said more such gatherings will be arranged to tackle pending issues that require parliamentary cooperation, such as the real estate stimulation plan and the supplementary budget.

Relations between Park and the National Assembly have been frayed since her presidential transitional committee days, as she was seen to bypass the views of the ruling party in her policymaking process, and shunning communication with the opposition.

Park enters the second month into her tenure with one of the gravest security challenges due to Pyongyang’s aggressive saber-rattling. Also the economy continues to hurt from a weakened yen, low growth and high household debt.

The liberal opposition, on its part, is expected to demand that Park send an envoy to North Korea as a way to breakthrough the peril of North Korea’s nuclear threat.

“We decided that the entire leadership will attend the event and share candid views. The DUP has the full intention to cooperate in terms of (bettering) public livelihood and security,” Moon said.

During a two-hour dinner with wine with the Saenuri Party leadership including chairman Hwang Woo-yea, Park asked for their support in swiftly getting her key bills passed, and continue to show cooperation in dealing with North Korea’s provocations.

To the politicians’ request for closer communication, Park reportedly replied, “I will make efforts to hear what the party has to say on all issues from now on.”

The meeting was also joined by Park’s chief of staff Huh Tae-yeol, senior secretary for state affairs planning Yoo Min-bong, senior secretary for political affairs Lee Jung-hyun and senior secretary for public relations Lee Nam-ki. Saenuri Party lawmakers who head parliamentary standing committees also attended, except for Defense Committee chairman Yoo Seung-min, Park’s former right-hand man, known to be relatively outspoken on the president compared to his colleagues, who are criticized for being submissive. Yoo reportedly said he could not attend because he was not feeling well.

Saenuri Party members have been becoming more vocal in criticizing her leadership style.

“The president should be making appointments that meet the eye-level of the people, instead of her own,” said Park’s former presidential primary rival Lee Jae-oh last year during a party meeting.

Park’s approval ratings continued to decline since her election and currently hovers around 40 percent, namely due to a repeated personnel appointment flops that resulted in at least five of her nominees to top government posts resigning.

Her nominations of ministers for the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries remain pending as the opposition disapprove them citing inadequacy and ethical lapses.

Lee also criticized his party members, saying, “The ruling party cannot earn the trust of the people if it resorts to walking on eggshells to see how the president feels on implementing political reform that is the inherent role of the party and the National Assembly.”

In a luncheon with Assembly Speaker Kang Chang-hee and other members of the podium, Park was quoted as urging for their cooperation in getting the real estate and budget bills passed. Park also urged for pan-partisan cooperation on diplomatic and security matters and explained her “trust-building process” in dealing with Pyongyang and the government’s intention to maintain the Gaeseong Industrial Complex. The North has pulled out all of its workers from the inter-Korean industrial park earlier this week as part of its escalated brinkmanship measure.

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