[Deputy Editor's Column] For Tonghapdang to Reattach Its Brain

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] "To be frank, the United Future Party has no brain."

Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon’s sharp criticism at a seminar hosted by United Future Party lawmaker Oh Shin-hwan on the 15th has become a hot topic. He said, "There used to be a think tank called the Yeouido Institute, but at some point, the Yeouido Institute started to fall apart." He explained that the absence of a think tank led to a lack of strategy, which ultimately became a major reason for losing to opponents armed with data.

Founded in 1995 during the era of the Democratic Liberal Party, the Yeouido Institute is known as Korea’s first conservative think tank. At one time, it was praised for its accuracy in predictions to the extent that people said it had a "scenario for regime re-creation." However, after the impeachment crisis, it has even been criticized as having "degenerated into a mere public opinion polling agency." Recently, even its polls in several elections produced inaccurate results. Since the days of its predecessor, the Liberty Korea Party, the United Future Party has repeatedly called for the "rebuilding of the Yeouido Institute," but reconstruction has been difficult.

The main reason cited is that the Yeouido Institute got caught up in factional fights within the party, preventing it from conducting proper policy research. The Yeouido Institute plays a role in providing basic data for candidate nominations through public opinion polls in various elections. Therefore, if a factional figure takes the position of director, the polls can be manipulated to favor that faction. This is why a research institute that should collect public sentiment trends and create policies has become a tool for factional battles.

For the Yeouido Institute to properly serve as the brain of the party in the future, it must establish independence free from factional influence within the party. Like former director Kim Se-yeon, who called for the "dissolution of the party," the party must be able to accept "harsh criticism" coming from within, not just from outside. To improve the image of the United Future Party, which has become a hateful party to the youth, it is also essential to transform into a younger image and increase communication with young people.

Change will be painful but necessary. Although the United Future Party is currently criticized as "brainless," nine years ago in 2011, the predecessor of the Democratic Party, the Democratic United Party, faced similar criticism. At that time, United Future Party lawmaker Lee Ju-young, who was the policy committee chairman, strongly criticized the Democratic Party amid a confrontation over the ratification of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA), saying, "The Democratic Party looks brainless." Whether the party will fall into the "Yeongnam Jaminryun" or return to being a national party holding the majority of seats depends on the United Future Party’s choice.

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