Ties with opposition could predict success of next admin.

All eyes are on the relationship between the ruling and opposition parties after the launch of the Park Geun-hye administration. President-elect Park told a news conference Thursday, the day after she was elected, “I consider opposition parties precious partners.”

Ruling Saenuri Party Chairman Hwang Woo-yea also said Monday, “I will further respect the opinions of opposition parties after I determine the directions of the budget and policies.

These words reflect the desire of the president-elect and Hwang to overcome the people’s distrust in politics through win-win politics. Extreme antagonism between the ruling and opposition parties has made the nation sick and tired of politics, and eventually fueled the political rise of former IT guru Ahn Cheol-soo.

The budget bill for next year up for passage Thursday to Friday this week at the plenary session of the National Assembly is likely to serve as a touchstone to predict ties between the ruling and opposition parties early in the Park administration.

The ruling Saenuri Party will try to have the bill passed without too much trouble by accepting the opinion of opposition parties as much as possible. If the passage is delayed because of confrontation, however, relations between them will likely remain sour for a while.

“If each of the main opposition Democratic United Party’s standing committees makes responsible decisions and talk to the secretaries of our standing committees, we will give our 100-percent support,” said Lee Han-koo, floor leader of the ruling party.

Members of the main opposition party, however, gave a cold response to Saenuri’s offer. Park Ki-choon, senior deputy floor leader of the Democratic United Party, said Monday, “The Saenuri Party unilaterally announced a budget increase of 6 trillion won (5.58 billion U.S. dollars) to carry out President-elect Park’s campaign pledges. They say they will achieve grand integration, but are still going their own way.”

Choi Jae-sung, a budget committee secretary, also said in a briefing, “What Rep. Lee Han-koo said about increasing the budget by adding 6 trillion won to our sovereign debt shows how arrogant he is.” If opposition parties select stronger and more opinionated leaders, relations between the ruling and opposition parties could grow worse. Certain experts advise President-elect Park to make the initial move to soften tension.

A ruling party source said, “Park knows the importance of relations with opposition parties better than anyone else. She needs to work hard to build a friendly relationship with opposition parties by establishing a committee comprising leaders from both the ruling and opposition parties as she pledged in her campaign.”

scud2007@donga.com