Floor leaders of the opposition parties are bracing for their first meeting with the president on Friday, during which swapping of pleasantries will likely deflect to tense exchanges on vying agendas.

“The meeting will not hold much significance if it becomes a mere opportunity for the president to unilaterally seek our cooperation only for the bills that she is interested in,” The Minjoo Party of Korea’s floor leader Rep. Woo Sang-ho said Wednesday.

He expressed little hope of the meeting yielding any breakthrough and said it could be considered a success if they are able to freely share their thoughts.

Cheong Wa Dae had announced earlier this week that President Park Geun-hye will invite floor leaders of the three main parties. This is the first gathering since the April 13 general election that stripped the ruling Saenuri Party of its majority status. Both Saenuri and Minjoo are without formal chairmen and are currently run by interim chiefs.

Last month, Park said she would utilize more opportunities to talk with the legislature during a meeting with the press.

Woo held a preparatory meeting with his team for the presidential talks. The party is set on raising issues such as jobs for youth, housing measures for lower-income groups, private education cost and household debt.

Aside from the face-to-face talks at Cheong Wa Dae, the party completed the formation of its policymaking committee earlier this week and is lining up its policy initiatives and offenses for the incoming 20th National Assembly.

The Minjoo Party is expected to tackle the government’s economic policy focused on deregulation, the stalemate in the North Korean relations and the nuclear problem, as well as its avoidance of controversial bills including that on the Sewol ferry fact-finding committee.

Interim chief Kim Chong-in said at a party meeting on Wednesday, “The government is making announcements as if abolishing regulations are the only way to activate the economy. … Economic regulations have been eased over the past four years, but have failed to provide any help.”

Woo, for his part, said the ruling party was still reluctant to endorse some of the most socially sensitive bills. They include the bill to fast track compensation for victims of toxic humidifier sterilizer and expand the scope of recognized damages.

The third largest People’s Party also vowed to be vocal.

“We will hear out the president, but we will also say what needs to be said,” the party’s whip Rep. Park Jie-won said.

The People’s Party stands on the same ground with regard to the bills on extending the operation of the committee investigating the Sewol ferry sinking that claimed 304 lives, and on the humidifier disinfectant victims.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)