Conflict between President Park Geun-hye and her party has escalated, with Cheong Wa Dae publicly firing back at the party chief, after he attempted to open a discussion on constitutional revision.

On Tuesday afternoon, a high-ranking official at Cheong Wa Dae criticized Saenuri Party chairman Kim Moo-sung, charging that the remark he made last week was calculated, not a mistake.

“We believe that the chairman of the party didn’t make the comment by mistake,” the official told reporters. “Bringing up the constitution-related issue in front of reporters (typing his words) on their laptops, he must have thought that it would make the headlines,” he said.

The remark by the presidential official came four days after Kim apologized to Park for “carelessly” bringing up the topic of a constitutional change.

The senior presidential staffer’s remark surprised many as it is rare for Cheong Wa Dae officials, even for presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook, to make comments on highly sensitive issues or about a specific figure.

The official also slammed media reports claiming that Cheong Wa Dae may have pushed Kim to deliver an apology and explanation of his comment.

“We were at a loss for words. Park was on her state visit to Italy at the time and was not able to take care of the issue due to her (tight) schedule,” he said.

Observers say the official’s remark was not just a personal opinion but was intended to reflect Park’s growing anger with Kim. “It took four days for Cheong Wa Dae to speak out about Kim,” said a critic who requested anonymity. “It means that the top office must have gone through intensive internal discussions to give a warning to the incumbent chief of the ruling party, which Park launched and led before becoming the president.”

Last Thursday, the ruling party chief said there would be “a flood of discussion” over a constitutional amendment. Kim said the purported discussion would aim to resolve political deadlocks between the ruling and main opposition parties. The constitutional amendment is a highly sensitive issue in Korea, as it envisions a coalition government structure in which a president and chancellor share powers ― a political overhaul that marks a departure from the current president-centered structure.

Another aspect to consider is the subtle tensions between the two political heavyweights. Park, who is scrambling to get tangible results from her economic and diplomatic policies, does not want the political parties to prematurely shift their attention toward a possible upheaval in the next administration.

For Kim, who became chairman of the ruling party in July, such a shift in focus is an extra point that he could use to shore up his political profile, especially given that he is deemed a strong contender for the 2017 presidential election.

No wonder, then, that observers, including those at Cheong Wa Dae, interpreted Kim’s move as a challenge to Park’s authority.

The president had already voiced disapproval of discussions on constitutional amendment. On Oct. 6, Park said a move to bring up the topic of constitutional change would open up “another economic black hole” and urged the parliament to focus on bills proposed to stabilize the people’s livelihood and promote the nation’s economy.

Reiterating Park’s earlier request to stop discussing the constitutional change, the presidential official on Tuesday urged the Saenuri Party to support Cheong Wa Dae’s drive to reform the public servants’ pension program.

“What can we do to help the country move forward on a long-term basis? Is that about the constitutional change?” he asked. “What we need to do is to proceed with urgent state agenda in the Assembly, such as pension reform.”

Some observers argue that Cheong Wa Dae is pushing to implement the pension reform partly to water down the move to open discussions on constitutional change, and to give an impression that the government is working on a reform scheme that would directly impact people’s livelihoods. 

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)