Will the United Future Party's 'Face' Change to 'People Power Party'... Kim Jong-in and Lee Nak-yeon to Meet Tomorrow

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Lee Ji-eun and Kim Hye-min] The new party name candidate for the United Future Party is being strongly considered as 'Gukminui Him' (People Power). The United Future Party plans to hold a members' meeting via YouTube to gather opinions from lawmakers on the party name and platform amendments and decide on the new party name. Additionally, Kim Jong-in, the emergency committee chairman of the United Future Party, expressed his intention to meet with Lee Nak-yeon, the newly elected leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 1st of next month to discuss political issues, drawing attention to whether this will mark the first step toward bipartisan cooperation.

The United Future Party decided to hold a non-face-to-face members' meeting at 11 a.m. on the 31st through the party's official YouTube channel 'Oreun Sori' to discuss the new party name and platform. Prior to the members' meeting, the emergency committee selected three party name candidates: Gukminui Him (People Power), Hangukui Dang (Korea Party), and Wihada (For Us), with 'Gukminui Him' reportedly being the most favored.

After the emergency committee meeting, Chairman Kim told reporters, "The new party name will be discussed at the members' meeting," adding, "Isn't that (Gukminui Him) the most reasonable?" He said, "We conducted many public opinion polls on the party name, and the word 'Gukmin' (People) came up the most. The word 'Gukmin' itself aligns with the spirit of our country's constitution," but drew a line regarding similarity with the People's Party, saying, "It is different."

Holding a members' meeting via YouTube is the first of its kind in the history of the National Assembly. This is due to the social distancing level being raised to 2.5 amid the resurgence of COVID-19. During the United Future Party members' meeting, lawmakers can express their opinions by posting comments instead of speaking. The YouTube broadcast link for the members' meeting will be disclosed only to attendees on the day for security reasons.

Chairman Kim expressed his willingness to meet with Leader Lee, who was elected the previous day, on the 1st of next month. He said, "We have to meet," and "There will be a lot to talk about."

In this regard, during his remarks at the emergency committee meeting that morning, he urged Leader Lee for cooperation. Chairman Kim said, "Since the beginning of the last session, the confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties has caused public displeasure," and added, "I ask the new administration to make efforts to ensure smooth cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties during the regular session."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He emphasized, "The public's anger has reached a peak due to various government policy failures. In particular, the failure of real estate policies has triggered enormous public anger and continues to do so. Please keep this in mind," adding, "This is a time when bipartisan cooperation is necessary to overcome COVID-19."

Meanwhile, the United Future Party will also discuss a new platform at the members' meeting that includes progressive values such as basic income, economic democratization, and protection of workers' rights. The new platform includes political reforms such as banning four-term re-election of lawmakers, lowering the age eligibility for major elections, mandatory youth nominations for local councils, abolishing TV license fees, and abolishing the Chief of Civil Affairs and Personnel Office, as well as real estate-related issues like housing supply and easing financial regulations.

The United Future Party plans to finalize the decisions at the Standing National Committee meeting on the 1st and the National Committee meeting on the 2nd after gathering lawmakers' opinions at the members' meeting. However, voices within the party question the procedural legitimacy of amending the party name and platform through a non-face-to-face process.

Lawmaker Jang Je-won wrote on Facebook, "Currently, it is realistically impossible to hold a proper members' meeting," and questioned, "If the approval is not granted even after holding a clumsy non-face-to-face members' meeting, what will happen at the National Committee?" He also criticized, "The platform amendment proposal suggested by the emergency committee is a poor work that lacks clarity and practicality compared to the one made six months ago."

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