Conservative United New Party to Launch on the 20th... Discord Over Hwang Kyo-ahn's Jongno Move in the Liberty Korea Party

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Lee Ji-eun and Kim Hye-min] The preparatory committee for the launch of a centrist-conservative unified new party was inaugurated on the 6th. Including Chairman Park Hyung-jun, who led the Innovation Integration Promotion Committee (Hyuktongwi), one co-chairperson each was appointed from the Liberty Korea Party, the New Conservative Party, the Forward 4.0 Party, and the Voice of the People Party’s founding preparatory committee, forming a five-person co-chair system. The Liberty Korea Party also held a party members' meeting on the same day and resolved to change the party name.

Chairman Park held a press conference on the day and announced the launch of the unified new party preparatory committee, stating, "We will launch the unified new party as soon as possible by the 20th of this month." The scheduled launch date of the unified new party is the 20th of this month. Going forward, the preparatory committee plans to hold meetings to decide on various matters related to the party’s founding, including the party name.

The leadership decided to operate under a five-person co-chair system. Sim Jae-chul, floor leader of the Liberty Korea Party; Jeong Byeong-guk, member of the New Conservative Party; Lee Eon-ju, leader of the Forward Party; and Jang Gi-pyo, founding preparatory committee chairman of the Voice of the People Party, will serve as co-chairpersons alongside Chairman Park. Chairman Park said, "The decision to have a five-person co-chair system is to embody the meaning and spirit of integration and to clearly establish that this is the only pan-centrist-conservative political party." He added, "The New Conservative Party will participate, but to finalize the intra-party integration discussions, Committee Member Jeong Un-cheon will participate immediately, and Committee Chairman Jeong Byeong-guk will join once those discussions are concluded." The Liberty Korea Party also held a party members' meeting on the same day to discuss changing the party name to 'Unified New Party,' accelerating the integration process. Earlier, on the 3rd, two closed supreme council meetings were held to discuss the party name change, resulting in the decision to change the name accordingly. Changes to the party’s symbolic color and logo are also being discussed.

Meanwhile, Ha Tae-kyung, co-representative of the New Conservative Party, held a press conference in the morning and stated, "We will participate in the unified new party preparatory committee for now, but more discussion is needed regarding the co-chairperson issue, so the decision will be made after the conclusion of the two-party integration between Liberty Korea Party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn and New Conservative Party’s Conservative Innovation Committee Chair Yoo Seung-min."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, discord is arising within the Liberty Korea Party over Hwang’s electoral district for the general election. The day before, the nomination management committee discussed whether Hwang should run in Jongno but failed to reach a conclusion due to disagreements among members. At the committee meeting that day, arguments clashed between those insisting Hwang should run in Jongno and those advocating caution. Initially, many committee members shared the view that Hwang should not avoid running in Jongno, but as Hwang hesitated, calls for alternative options emerged. In particular, Park Wan-su, secretary-general and a close aide to Hwang, reportedly emphasized that running in Jongno is a frame set by the Democratic Party of Korea.

Although no official decision has been made, there are rumors that the consensus is leaning toward Hwang not running in Jongno. This is because there is a sentiment that a conclusion cannot be reached without Hwang’s consent. In response, committee member Lee Seok-yeon expressed dissatisfaction, saying it felt like 'rescuing Private Hwang Kyo-ahn.'

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