Unified Party's New Name Likely 'Gukminui Him'... History of Conservative Party Name Changes?

Unified Party Name as 'Gukminui Him'... Confirmed After National Committee Approval
Kim Jong-in "A Suitable Party Name"
Ahn Cheol-soo on 'Gukminui Him' Party Name "Doesn't Seem Like a Similar Name"

Kim Jong-in, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the United Future Party, and Joo Ho-young, Floor Leader, are entering the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 31st.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] The Emergency Committee of the United Future Party finalized the party name as 'People Power' on the 31st. If this party name is confirmed, it will be the sixth time the name of a conservative party has changed since democratization in 1987. Accordingly, the United Future Party will disappear into history just seven months after its launch.

On the morning of the same day, Kim Jong-in, chairman of the United Future Party's Emergency Committee, met with reporters after the committee meeting and said, "I think (People Power) is appropriate," adding, "It is a different party name from the existing People's Party."

Kim Soo-min, the publicity committee chairman, reported three final candidate party names to the emergency committee and the party caucus: 'People Power,' 'Party of Korea,' and 'For.'

Earlier, the United Future Party held a nationwide party name contest from the 13th to the 21st. About 17,000 ideas were submitted. The most frequently submitted keyword was 'People,' followed by 'Freedom,' 'Korea,' and 'Future.'

If the United Future Party's National Committee approves the name change, it will disappear into history in the shortest period in the history of conservative parties since the 1980s.

On February 17, about two months before the April 15 general election, the conservative camp, including the Liberty Korea Party and the New Conservative Party, merged to form the United Future Party, but the party name will have been used for less than a year. At that time, names such as 'Unified New Party' and 'Grand Unified New Party' were also considered, but the final choice was 'United Future Party.'

Since democratization in 1987, the names of conservative parties have changed five times. Conservative parties have renewed their atmosphere by founding new parties, re-founding, or changing party names whenever they faced crises. The reason for changing the party name from Saenuri Party to Liberty Korea Party and then to the United Future Party after becoming the opposition party due to former President Park Geun-hye's impeachment was also to use the name change as a card for revitalizing the party atmosphere.

If the United Future Party's name is confirmed on the 2nd of next month, it will be the sixth case of a party name change following the Democratic Liberal Party formed by the merger of the Democratic, New Democratic, and Republican parties in 1990, the New Korea Party in 1995, the Grand National Party in 1997, the Saenuri Party in 2012, the Liberty Korea Party in 2017, and the United Future Party in 2020.

Kim Jong-in, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the United Future Party, is attending the Emergency Response Committee Chairman-Senior Lawmakers Meeting held at the National Assembly on the 26th, delivering a speech. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

The longest-lasting name of a conservative party was 'Grand National Party.' Established in 1997, the Grand National Party maintained its name for about 15 years until 2012, making it the longest-lived conservative party since democratization in 1987.

In 2012, the Grand National Party merged with the Pro-Park Alliance and the Advanced Unification Party and changed its name to 'Saenuri Party.' At that time, the party logo was changed from blue to red, and efforts were made to shed conservative colors by adopting the slogan 'Economic Democracy.'

In the 19th general election held after the name change, although there was an expectation that the opposition would prevail due to criticism of the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Saenuri Party secured a majority with 127 seats (50.7%).

Five years after the launch of Saenuri Party, the Liberty Korea Party emerged in 2017. It was a name created by the pro-Park faction and some non-Park faction lawmakers who were cornered by the Park Geun-hye administration's state affairs manipulation scandal to revitalize the atmosphere. Representative Hong Joon-pyo took office and even expelled former President Park from the party.

Then, in February this year, the United Future Party was launched by the merger of the Korea Party, the New Conservative Party, and Forward to the Future 4.0 (Jeonjin Party), emphasizing the 'judgment of the Moon Jae-in administration.'

Meanwhile, some interpret the inclusion of the word 'People' in the United Future Party's new name as a consideration for a future merger with the People's Party led by Ahn Cheol-soo.

However, after the meeting on the same day, when asked about the United Future Party's new name, Ahn said, "It is not appropriate for me to comment on another party's name," but added, "From what I heard, it does not seem to be a similar name."

When asked if the inclusion of 'People' in the United Future Party's name was intended for a merger, he dismissed it, saying, "If that logic applies, then all parties with 'People' in their names should merge."

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