Moon's chief political aide visits parliament to build cooperative ties

President Moon Jae-in's chief secretary for political affairs visited the National Assembly on Monday to meet parliamentary leaders in his first step to forge cooperative ties with the opposition-led legislature.

During his first visit to the Assembly since his appointment on Sunday, Jun Byung-hun reiterated that he would play a central role in strengthening communication between the legislature and the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

"I am determined to try hard to play the role of a communication center among the National Assembly, the government and Cheong Wa Dae," he said during his meeting with Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun.

"Under the five-party system in which the opposition parties are certain to lead the Assembly, we cannot help but carry out a new (political) experiment and walk on an untrodden path ... The right path is to create a framework of cooperative governance," he added.

For the newly minted president, ensuring smooth cooperation with opposition parties is seen as pivotal, as their support is crucial in passing any big-ticket legislation to back his major policy initiatives.

Moon's ruling Democratic Party currently holds 120 seats in the 299-seat parliament. By law, a contested bill can only be sent to a plenary session for a vote with the consent of at least 60 percent of the sitting lawmakers, or 180 seats.

In particular, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party has vowed to "thoroughly" keep the ruling bloc in check, warning against any post-election indulgence. 

Following his meeting with Chung, Jun met with DP leader Choo Mi-ae and floor leader Woo Sang-ho, and vowed to serve as a "hotline" between the presidential office and Cheong Wa Dae.

Choo pledged the party's full support of the president, while Woo requested that the president consider creating a new ministerial post in charge of political affairs to ensure seamless cooperation with parliament.

The presidential office later said it had not "considered" creating a new minister for political affairs. (Yonhap)