New Choice Moves to Unite Third Zone Forces... 'Agreement on Joint Party Formation with Third Power'

Holding the Founding Convention on the 17th

The third zone, centered around ‘Saeroun Seontaek’ (New Choice), has begun consolidating its forces. On the 8th, Saeroun Seontaek declared a merger with the Justice Party opinion group ‘Se Sambe Je Gwonryeok’ (Third Power), led by former Justice Party Policy Committee Chair Cho Seong-ju.

Geum Tae-seop, leader of Saeroun Seontaek, and Cho Seong-ju, co-chair of Third Power, agreed on joint party founding on the 8th. In their agreement, both sides stated, "To create a mature Republic of Korea beyond industrialization and democratization, we will form a third zone coalition party where rational progressives and reformist conservatives come together," and added, "We will move forward as a larger party with new forces seeking alternatives to the two-party system."

Geum Tae-seop, Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the New Choice Party. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The organization will be based on Saeroun Seontaek’s city and provincial parties, which have completed the founding procedures according to the Political Parties Act, and will operate under a co-representative system. The party name, organizational structure, and core policies will be "discussed during the upcoming political realignment process."

Additionally, Saeroun Seontaek has officially set the founding convention date for the 17th.

A Saeroun Seontaek official stated, "The new party will continue to serve as a big tent for the third zone, promoting solidarity with all individuals and factions seeking new politics, and will develop into a larger party."

Saeroun Seontaek, which puts the third zone at the forefront, plans to continuously expand its forces. The agreement contains strategic moves for consolidating power. By defining itself as rational progressives and reformist conservatives, it broadens the ideological spectrum, while also adopting an open stance toward the party name and core policies. This is interpreted as an open invitation for any political forces seeking to overcome the drawbacks of the existing two-party system and pursue new politics to join.

Josungju, Chairman of the Third Power Steering Committee. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

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