Park Hyung-jun "Unified New Party Name 'Mirae Tonghapdang'... Public Official Committee May Expand to 13 Members"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The name of the centrist-conservative unified new party has been finalized as 'Mirae Tonghapdang' (Future United Party). The number of nomination management committee members, previously limited to 10 in the Korean Party, will be increased to up to 13. The new party's leader will be Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Liberty Korea Party, with a focus on forming the election committee.

Park Hyung-joon, co-chairman of the Unified New Party Preparation Committee (Tongjunwi), told reporters after a meeting on the 13th, "We decided on Mirae Tonghapdang to signify that this party will open its doors to the youth and become a party where they are the owners, as well as to embody the meaning of centrist-conservative unification."

Initially, names such as 'Mirae Hanguk Tonghapshindang' (Future Korea Unified New Party) and 'Mirae Tonghapshindang' (Future Unified New Party) were strongly discussed within Tongjunwi. On the same day, the Korean Party held a national committee meeting and confirmed the name 'Mirae Hanguk Tonghapshindang.' However, it was concluded that the name was too long and including 'Shindang' (New Party) in the party name was not very meaningful, so the shorter name Mirae Tonghapdang was ultimately chosen.

Park explained, "Once the election starts, 'Shindang' has little significance, and the public will think it is important that centrists and conservatives unite, so we agreed on this. Although 'Mirae Hanguk Tonghapdang' was also considered, since 'Mirae Hangukdang' is registered as a proportional representation party, there was a risk of issues with the election commission, so we avoided that." The party color was decided as 'Millennial Pink.'

The nomination management committee will maintain the existing Korean Party committee. Park said, "Although members from civil society requested a complete reorganization of the nomination committee through joint chairman meetings held recently, the Korean Party and the Forward Party expressed the view that it is preferable to reinforce the current framework. In this regard, civil society representatives including co-chairman Jang Ki-pyo protested by not attending the meeting, but discussions proceeded nonetheless."

Park added, "The Korean Party's party rules limit the nomination committee to 10 members, but we decided to increase it to up to 13. There will be no additional recommendations based on quota sharing; if there are good candidates, we will discuss and recommend them as nomination committee members." He noted, "The number of committee members may not necessarily increase; it could remain the same or increase by one or two. Only those recognized for fairness, social prestige, and expertise will be selected as committee members, and this has been agreed upon with Kim Hyung-o, the nomination committee chairman."

The leadership system will be based on the Korean Party's leadership structure with additional supreme council members added. He said, "To uphold the spirit of unification, we agreed to include individuals who embody this spirit as new supreme council members within the Korean Party's supreme council. We will avoid the past practice of quota sharing where each party holds one share and participates; instead, everyone will recommend members together."

The additional supreme council members will be finalized before the inauguration ceremony on the 16th. Park said, "It is desirable to present a new image to the public, but a complete replacement at this late stage before the election is practically impossible. After the election, we will hold a party convention to elect a new leadership." Regarding the ratio between existing Korean Party members and the additional supreme council members, he refrained from commenting, saying, "There have been discussions, but nothing has been finalized."

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