President Roh proposes new dialogue body with political parties

President Roh Moo-hyun on Sunday proposed holding a pan-governmental consultation body comprising leaders from the government and ruling and opposition parties to discuss ways to work through stalemates in domestic politics, Roh's chief of staff said.

"President Roh suggested leaders of the government, the (ruling) Uri Party and the (main opposition) Grand National Party meet to discuss ways to remove various roadblocks in domestic politics and promote smooth management of administrative affairs," said Lee Byung-wan in a press conference.

"Through the new dialogue channel, the president wishes to discuss a speedy parliamentary handling of long-delayed bills directly related to the public livelihood and next year's budget bills, while collecting various opinions on the direction of state administration."

The Uri Party immediately welcomed the offer, saying that President Roh seems serious about eliminating political disputes through dialogue.

"We welcome and accept the president's latest offer for the creation of a new political body," Uri Party spokesman Woo Sang-ho said. "It is time to resolve all pending national issues at the president-recommended stage of dialogue."

The GNP has yet to clarify its stance, but many of its lawmakers reacted negatively to the latest presidential offer.

Seoul, Nov. 26 (Yonhap News)