With the impending start of the new National Assembly session, political parties are counting on their newly elected floor leaders to join forces and add momentum to the long-stalled legislature.

The new whips -- Chung Jin-suk of the ruling Saenuri Party, Rep. Woo Sang-ho of The Minjoo Party of Korea and Rep. Park Jie-won of the People’s Party -- vowed to achieve “coordinated governance,” claiming that their professional and personal ties would be of help.

The outgoing parliament, whose concluding session ends May 29, has often been held back by the unyielding confrontation of chief negotiators of the parties on key agendas. The deadlock frequently got worse due to the intervention of factional bosses and the presidential office.

“In the 19th parliament, inter-party deals often turned sour due to the intervention of Cheong Wa Dae,” Woo told Chung at their meeting Thursday. “I hope that Chung, with his experience in the administration, will keep an ideal balance, to which we will respond with rational communication and cooperation.”

Chung, who pledged to fix what critics view as a “hierarchical relationship” between the ruling party and President Park Geun-hye, echoed the remark. But he also hinted that there would be no significant change to the current frame.

“I believe that the president will not make unreasonable demands or give impractical orders,” the ruling party whip said.

Thursday’s event was the first one-on-one meeting between the two rival parties’ whips, while Woo is scheduled to meet with the No. 3 party’s Park on Monday next week.

The floor leaders of the three mainstream parties are expected to gather next week after the ruling and main opposition parties elect their vice floor leaders and other senior officials.

Since taking office, the floor leaders have reiterated that they would make a “good match” in the upcoming parliament where the whips would face challenges of hammering out complex deals amid a tripartite frame.

“I think we can get along with each other pretty well and make the Assembly start its job on a sound note,” said Chung. His counterpart Woo expressed his hope by hailing Chung as “rational politician” who speaks the “same language” as him. 

One of the features the three whips share in common is the way they stepped into politics. All three started their political career after being recruited by former President Kim Dae-jung and his political counterpart former Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil.

Another similarity is their previous role as party spokespersons. Having served eight terms in the post, Woo is still remembered by many as The Minjoo’s spokesman. Chung and Park, too, held the equivalent post in 1992 and 2001, respectively.

In this three-party structure, it is the runner-up opposition party’s Park who is likely to play a tie-breaking role, balancing himself between the two leading parties. The 73-year-old senior politician not only has a close personal relationship with both the other whips but is also renowned for his strategic political moves.

The Minjoo Party’s defector said that he would “cooperate” in tapping a Saenuri party member as the next parliamentary speaker, a move that would deal a blow to the Minjoo Party’s plan to place one of its own for the post after emerging as the biggest party in the April 13 general elections.

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)