President Park Geun-hye sat down for talks with the leaders of Korea's main rival parties on this Tuesday.<br />The meeting garnered a lot of attention, since it was the first time the president held talks with her election rival... and now opposition leader Moon Jae-in... in two years.<br />While they agreed that reviving the economy is the country's most pressing concern, they differed on how to breathe new life into the economy.<br />Choi You-sun reports. <br />After a brief exchange of greetings with the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties, President Park got down to business,... addressing her recent Middle East trip.<br /><br /><br />"I ask for your cooperation in implementing deals signed in the Middle East, so that the outcome would benefit our people and businesses, and set a foundation for economic growth."<br /><br /><br />She also urged parliament to swiftly pass pending bills aimed at creating jobs and revitalizing the economy.<br />While promising his party's cooperation, opposition leader Moon Jae-in said that the government's economic and welfare policies have failed to improve the people's livelihood.<br /><br /><br />"We need to change policies and increase household income for growth. I propose first addressing four livelihood tasks."<br /><br /><br />The four tasks Moon listed were a significant increase in Korea's minimum wage, generating welfare funding by expanding taxes on corporations and high-income earners, and addressing the problems of rising housing rental prices and household debt. <br />President Park rebutted Moon's claims, saying the opposition's proposed artificial income increase could lead to more taxes and reduced corporate activity.<br />She added the government is already taking measures to handle the four tasks listed by the opposition leader.<br />As for improving inter-Korean relations, Moon said Seoul should first seek to boost economic cooperation with Pyongyang, and make efforts to hold an inter-Korean summit this year.<br /><br /><br />"While President Park has opened a channel to more actively communicate with the leaders
