In the three-party system that emerged from the April 13 general election, no single party controls a majority of seats in the National Assembly. This means it takes two parties to pass a bill through the parliament.

The message that Korean voters sought to convey through the election was unmistakably clear: Political parties should collaborate in handling state affairs.

The message appears to have been successfully delivered. All parties now talk about the need to discard politics as usual and begin a new era of collaboration in formulating policies.

Yet the problem is that Korean politics has no tradition of collaborative policymaking among rival political parties. This was well illustrated by the ferocious antagonism between the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea in recent years.

For collaboration in policymaking, the role of the People’s Party is important, as the nascent party is not only committed to changing Korea’s political culture, but now holds the balance of power between the ruling and main opposition parties.

The party appears to be well aware that the three-party system offers it an opportunity to carve out a role much bigger than that a party with only 38 seats in the 300-seat parliament would normally expect to play.

The party’s leaders have already proposed that the three political parties and the government jointly set up a consultative committee to discuss major economic policies.

Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a coleader of the party, also proposed that the three parties launch a special parliamentary panel to hammer out effective programs for creating jobs.

Ahn’s overture is designed to demonstrate the party’s readiness to catalyze collaboration among the three parties and lead the policymaking dialogue.

The minor opposition party’s commitment to collaboration is welcome in light of the antagonistic relationship between the two bigger parties. But a shift to collaborative governance requires much more than the minor’s party’s push.

A more important element may be the willingness of the ruling party and the government to recalibrate their policies on major issues, such as labor reform, to reach agreement with other parties.

Throughout the 19th National Assembly, the ruling party has refused to compromise on key issues in negotiations with the Minjoo Party, which resulted in frequent parliamentary paralyses.

To avoid legislative stalemate, the ruling party and the government need to be more flexible. Instead of sticking to their positions, they should be more willing to explore new options that accommodate the positions of opposition parties.

A collaborative policymaking system cannot operate efficiently without cooperation from the Minjoo Party, which has emerged as the largest party in the April 13 election.

The main opposition party cannot avoid responsibility for the poor performance of the national economy, as it has hobbled the government by refusing to endorse its economic reform bills.

Now the party should behave more responsibly and respect the policy proposals of the government and other parties. If it maintains the obstructionist strategy it has resorted to in the 19th National Assembly, it will be judged by voters in the same way as the ruling party was in the April 13 election.

The three parties need to start dialogue even before the new National Assembly opens in June, as a host of reform bills aimed at revitalizing the economy are waiting for parliamentary deliberation.

A good starting point for collaboration is the special parliamentary panel on job creation proposed by Ahn. The three parties and the government should not waste time in tackling the urgent problem.