Talks between Pres. Lee and opposition leader

President Lee Myung-bak and the head of the country`s main opposition party will soon hold their first meeting since September 2008. Sohn Hak-kyu proposed talks on the economic issues of ordinary households to President Lee Sunday, to which the president positively responded. Dialogue between the presidential office and the opposition party could be the first step toward resolving the political deadlock.

The president must improve relations with the opposition party as well as the ruling party for a stable administration in the fourth year of his five-year term. He can smoothly work over the lame-duck period by restoring the broken relationship with politicians. Sohn might want to use the meeting to highlight his leadership that supposedly cares for the people in contrast to ruling party heavyweight Park Geun-hye.

The proposed halving of college tuition, which recently led to candlelight protests, cannot be left up to populist politicians, however. Ruling party floor leader Hwang Woo-yeo is at a loss after bluntly talking about halving tuition without conducting a thorough feasibility review. Sohn changed his words in response to hawkish college students. He needs feasible alternatives and should be clear about what is possible and what is not. If Sohn wants to enjoy a political offensive, he might give people the impression that he is unfit to serve as president.

Other important issues include the state of savings banks, the ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, and judicial reform that involves abolishing the central investigation department of the Supreme Prosecutors` Office. Though tough to narrow the gap between the ruling and opposition parties, President Lee and Sohn must put themselves in the shoes of ordinary people. If either of them seeks to pursue political interests in the meeting, such a trick will come back to haunt the one who uses it.

Both men can hopefully take this meeting to talk solutions to tough issues facing the people. They need to think about the future of the nation and people, not just caring for certain groups of people and interest groups that pressure them with votes. Sohn should show that he is responsible on pending issues in the run-up to next year’s general and presidential election. Politics peppered with seditious slogans could attract national attention for a while but more important is to gain the people’s trust. President Lee also should not limit the scope of agenda for the discussion and be open to any agenda related to the people`s livelihood. If necessary, a second or third meeting between President Lee and Sohn should be held.