President Yoon Suk Yeol walks with the ruling People Power Party (PPP) Chairman Han Dong-hoon, left, and PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho, right, after their dinner meeting at a garden in front of the presidential office in Seoul, Sep. 24. Courtesy of presidential office

President Yoon Suk Yeol is under scrutiny for arranging a dinner meeting for Wednesday with ruling People Power Party (PPP) floor leader Rep. Choo Kyung-ho and other PPP lawmakers who chair parliamentary committees while refusing to meet party leader Han Dong-hoon separately.

Wednesday's dinner meeting comes roughly a week after Yoon hosted a dinner meeting with the PPP's leadership, including Han and Choo, on Sept. 24, but failed to meet one-on-one with the party leader.

Currently, the PPP holds seven chair positions in seven standing committees, including foreign affairs and unification, national defense, intelligence, strategy and finance.

The presidential office said Wednesday's dinner meeting was organized to encourage the PPP's floor leader, standing committee chairs and members ahead of a parliamentary audit of the government and state agencies, set to take place from Oct. 7 to 25.

"The dinner meeting is an annual event and was decided a long time ago before the 22nd National Assembly began its regular session," a presidential official said.

However, some speculate that the meeting might be intended to prevent PPP lawmakers from voting in favor of passing bills that include one targeting first lady Kim Keon Hee on her alleged involvement in stock manipulation, acceptance of a luxury handbag and interference with the ruling party's candidate nominations ahead of the April general elections.

Yoon is expected to exercise his veto power over the special counsel investigation bill concerning his wife, as well as other bills on politically contentious issues by Friday. This includes a proposal for a special counsel probe into the presidential office, which the DPK is advocating for regarding cash handouts to all citizens. Each bill needs to gain two-thirds of support in order to override the president's veto.

Some criticized Yoon for refusing to sit down with Han to seek a breakthrough in pursuing his key policies.

Han had requested a private one-on-one meeting with Yoon on the sidelines of the Sept. 24 dinner meeting to discuss pressing issues, such as the impasse over the current medical reform by the government and controversies surrounding the first lady, but Yoon rejected it, saying that separate coordination is needed to arrange such a meeting. Han has continued to express his desire to have a private conversation with Yoon, but Yoon has remained silent on the request.

"Why didn't the president invite Han to the dinner meeting? Is it because Han does not have the right to vote during the parliamentary revote or because he has different ideas about special counsel bills on targeting the first lady and the Marine's death?" Rep. Han Min-soo, spokesperson of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, said.