[Politics, That Day...] Chaos of 'Mixed Politics', What Exactly Happened in August That Year...

August 2007, The Tumultuous History of the Birth of the Grand Unified Democratic New Party
A Hastily Formed Party Driven by Desire for Presidential Victory, Leading to Voter Neglect

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min]

Editor's Note‘Politics, That Day...’ is a series that looks back on Korean politics through the ‘recollection of memories’ related to notable scenes, events, and figures.

National Assembly Building. Photo by Asia Economy DB

If you have ever heard the name ‘Mirae Changjo Daetonghap Minju Shindang’ (Future Creation Grand Unified Democratic New Party), you can be considered somewhat knowledgeable about politics. If you can explain why Mirae Changjo Daetonghap Minju Shindang was formed and how it changed (or disappeared), then you are a ‘political expert.’

The lineup of figures who participated in the preparatory committee for the founding of Mirae Changjo Daetonghap Minju Shindang was impressive. Some of them still play key roles in the ruling and opposition presidential races today.

Mirae Changjo Daetonghap Minju Shindang, a party name combining several words such as ‘Mirae’ (Future), ‘Changjo’ (Creation), ‘Daetonghap’ (Grand Unification), ‘Minju’ (Democratic), and ‘Shindang’ (New Party), making its identity difficult to understand?who tried to establish this party and for what reasons?

Although it clearly left a mark in Korean political history, this party has now mostly faded from public memory. To understand its story, we need to go back to August 2007, a ‘time of chaos.’ What exactly happened in Korean politics that August?

The key keyword to help understand is ‘presidential election.’ Without the presidential election, they would not have gathered like that nor experienced such a chaotic August. In fact, the politicians involved in the founding process of Mirae Changjo Daetonghap Minju Shindang were so diverse that the term ‘mixed politics’ was used.

Defectors from the Uri Party participated, as did defectors from the United Democratic Party. People from the group led by former Gyeonggi Province Governor Sohn Hak-kyu, who left the Grand National Party, also joined. There were civil society groups and figures who had roles in the Participatory Government.

On July 24, 2007, just 12 days after forming the preparatory committee for Mirae Changjo Daetonghap Minju Shindang, they held the founding convention. On August 5, 2007, they held the founding convention at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul, and decided on the party name ‘Daetonghap Minju Shindang’ (abbreviated as Minju Shindang).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

People recognize the name Daetonghap Minju Shindang but find Mirae Changjo Daetonghap Minju Shindang unfamiliar for this reason. The word ‘Mirae Changjo’ (Future Creation) was dropped during the rapid founding process. In fact, the name Daetonghap Minju Shindang itself was also ambiguous.

What kind of grand unification was it for? What did Minju Shindang mean? The public was inevitably confused. The founding rationale of Daetonghap Minju Shindang was not absent. “To win the presidential election, all future forces must unite on the front line against the forces of regression.”

They put forward ‘confrontation with the forces of regression’ as the founding justification. They defined themselves as the future forces.

Though political rhetoric was used, the essence was power. The hidden rationale was that no one wanted to give power to the Grand National Party, so everyone should unite their strength. If people with different political orientations gathered under one flag to seize power, would the public embrace them?

In fact, the political fate of Daetonghap Minju Shindang might have been predicted from the day of its founding.

Daetonghap Minju Shindang experienced a heated period that August. This was intertwined with the collapse of the Uri Party. On August 20, 2007, at the ‘Joint Meeting of the Integration Task Force’ held at the National Assembly VIP cafeteria, the Uri Party merged with Daetonghap Minju Shindang in an absorption-type integration.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Uri Party went through a legal dissolution process, and its membership list and assets were absorbed by Daetonghap Minju Shindang. With the Uri Party’s main faction joining Daetonghap Minju Shindang, the party quickly grew to become the largest parliamentary party with 143 seats.

Within less than a month of its founding, Daetonghap Minju Shindang became the party holding the most seats in the National Assembly. Although Daetonghap Minju Shindang had a plausible appearance, its path ahead was full of obstacles.

Their expectation that all those opposing the Grand National Party’s rule could unite to win the presidential election soon collapsed. Daetonghap Minju Shindang had a clear desire to hold power but failed to properly explain why the public should choose them.

While they increased their political size, internally they were like oil and water, difficult to mix. They tried to reverse the situation quickly by proposing a ‘unified candidate’ card, but it only fueled conflicts without bearing fruit.

The public paid no attention to Daetonghap Minju Shindang’s courting efforts.

In the 2007 17th presidential election, Daetonghap Minju Shindang’s presidential candidate received only 6,174,681 votes (26.1% of the vote). This was nearly 5 million votes fewer than the Grand National Party’s candidate?a complete ‘defeat.’ The voters’ final judgment on the hectic movements of that August was cold.

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