Kim Jaewon: "Mirae Hanguk Party will merge after the election... Representative Hwang's candidacy follows party strategy"

Kim Jae-won, Policy Committee Chairman of the Liberty Korea Party, is announcing the general election pledge related to housing policy at the National Assembly on the 16th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Kim Jae-won, Policy Committee Chairman of the Liberty Korea Party, stated on the 5th that the newly established Future Korea Party will merge after the election. Regarding Hwang Kyo-ahn's candidacy, he expressed that it should align with the party's general election strategy.

On the morning of the 6th, Kim appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and said, "As we have already announced, the Future Korea Party is a sister party of the Liberty Korea Party. Therefore, their pledges are essentially the same."

He added, "The reason Future Korea Party does not have to present different pledges is because it was created to minimally resist the anti-democratic mixed-member proportional representation election law. Since the merger will occur after the general election, there is no need to propose separate policy pledges; the Liberty Korea Party's pledges are the Future Korea Party's pledges," he emphasized.

When asked if the Future Korea Party currently has secured four lawmakers, he replied, "We are close," and stated, "Once we secure more than five seats, we will be prioritized in ballot number allocation, so our first goal is to secure five seats for the launch." He continued, "Traditionally, we have secured about 30% in party votes. Under the newly introduced system, if we do not nominate candidates in constituencies, we can secure about 60% of the proportional seats," emphasizing, "So, arithmetically, we expect about 27 or 28 seats."

Regarding Hwang's candidacy in Jongno, he said, "The nomination management committee has repeatedly declared that it will decide, and I think it will be determined in consultation with Hwang himself." He added, "Since our party's general election strategy and the party leader's candidacy are closely related, I believe the nomination management committee and Hwang will agree to select the district most necessary for the general election strategy."

He expressed skepticism about the Jongno candidacy. Kim said, "Whether or not he runs in a certain district, I question whether this really helps our party's election strategy. I have a different view on whether it is right for Hwang to directly involve himself in the election strategies demanded by the ruling party or the media at this time."

While the Liberty Korea Party discussed a party name change at the lawmakers' meeting that day, the possibility of changing to a name other than the previously known 'Unified New Party' was not ruled out. Kim said, "If we only use the abbreviation 'Unified New Party,' it could become a party without any political ideology or policy orientation. Therefore, I suggested to some lawmakers a party name that maintains the name our party has used to some extent while widely conveying the spirit of unity." He added, "The response was positive, so I am considering proposing it at the lawmakers' meeting."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.