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S.Korea's main opposition party chief proposes talks with president after mass rally

Xinhua, November 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

Chief of South Korea's main opposition party has proposed bilateral talks with President Park Geun-hye after the biggest mass rally in three decades in central Seoul over the weekend, Park's office said Monday.

Presidential spokesman Jung Youn-kuk told reporters that the overtures of bilateral dialogue had been made by the main opposition Minjoo Party, saying details on the talks haven't been fixed.

The dialogue offer followed the Saturday rally that drew over 1 million South Koreans in central Seoul, the biggest since June 1987 when about 1 million people protested against the military dictatorship.

Choo Mi-ae, Minjoo Party chairwoman, reportedly proposed emergency talks with the scandal-hit president to be held in the afternoon to get over the biggest political crisis since Park took office in February 2013.

Choo told a supreme council meeting that she felt a grave responsibility as the main opposition party leader to deliver the public sentiment to the president, indicating her calls for Park's resignation to be made during the bilateral dialogue.

The chairwoman said Sunday that President Park should solve the problem caused by herself, noting that unless the president does it, the last thing left to do is to get back the sovereign power given by people. Her comments indicated her willingness to push for the impeachment of Park.

Park has been mired in the scandal involving her decades-long confidante Choi Soon-sil, who is suspected of intervening in state affairs from the shadows and peddling undue influence for personal gains.

The scandal-plagued president made public apologies twice, but public anger failed to be appeased, causing the third weekly protest rally over the weekend.

The presidential Blue House had suggested talks with three chiefs of the ruling Saenuri Party, the Minjoo Party and the minor opposition People's Party, but Choo initially refused the proposal.

People's Party Floor Leader Park Jie-won raised doubts about what Choo intends to with the bilateral dialogue proposal, expressing his negative opinion as the bilateral talks can break cooperation among three main opposition parties.

The People's Party and another minor Justice Party have called for the embattled president to immediately step down or be impeached to form a coalition cabinet by a parliament-appointed prime minister and hold a presidential election early. Enditem