'An Cheol-soo New Party' Name Usage Denied... New Party Name to Be Announced on the 9th

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The National Election Commission has denied the use of the party name "Ahn Cheol-soo New Party." The Commission issued a legal interpretation stating that the name "Ahn Cheol-soo New Party" cannot be used due to reasons including ▲the undemocratic nature of party dominance order ▲de facto pre-election campaigning ▲the possibility of confusion with politician Ahn Cheol-soo during voting. The Ahn Cheol-soo New Party has refuted these points one by one and announced that it will select a new party name. The new party name is expected to be revealed at the founding initiators' meeting on the 9th.

A representative of the Ahn Cheol-soo New Party said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 7th, "Even a tentative party name is necessary. Since we have to report to the Election Commission, it should be announced by the initiators' meeting."

The Election Commission held a plenary meeting yesterday afternoon at its office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, to discuss the possibility of using the party name "Ahn Cheol-soo New Party." As a result, it announced, "It has been decided that the name cannot be used as a party name because it violates Article 8, Paragraph 2, Article 116, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution, and Article 2 of the Political Parties Act, which guarantee the purpose and essence of political parties and equal opportunities for election campaigning."

The Commission explained, "Explicitly including the name of an incumbent politician in a party's name is undesirable because the purpose, organization, and activities of a political party must be democratic, and the party must pursue responsible political claims or policies for the benefit of the people. Including a politician's name may not align with the purpose and essence of a political party and can cause undemocratic party dominance order."

There was also criticism that a party name containing a specific politician's name constitutes pre-election campaigning. The Commission stated, "It leads to a deepening of practical inequality in opportunities, as it grants much more election campaigning opportunities compared to other politicians, which contradicts the legislative purpose of the Public Official Election Act to ensure fairness in elections." Furthermore, the Commission noted that if the name Ahn Cheol-soo is written in the affiliated party name section on the ballot paper, voters may confuse the incumbent politician (Ahn Cheol-soo) with the actual candidate, resulting in distortion of voter intent.

The Ahn Cheol-soo New Party immediately issued a statement to refute the decision. Lee Tae-gyu and Kim Kyung-hwan, co-leaders of the founding promotion planning group, said, "We strongly regret the illegal decision by the Election Commission that infringes on the freedom to use party names without legal grounds," and criticized, "This is an excessive interpretation unrelated to the Constitution that infringes on the freedom to establish political parties. We cannot help but suspect that this is a political judgment rather than a legal one."

They added, "The Constitutional Court has ruled that the freedom to use party names is a fundamental right that constitutes the freedom to establish political parties guaranteed by the Constitution. The freedom to use party names can only be restricted by law," and said, "Our Political Parties Act does not impose any restrictions on the use of party names except for similar party names and names of parties dissolved for unconstitutionality."

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