Lee Nak-yeon and Non-Myeong Faction United... Founding of 'Saeroun Mirae' Party

Today Central Party Joint Founding Conference
Inheriting the Spirit of Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun

At the provisional Future United Alliance Gyeongbuk Provincial Party founding convention held on the 24th at UA Convention in Daedong, Nam-gu, Pohang-si, Gyeongbuk, lawmakers Lee Won-wook, Cho Eung-cheon, Kim Jong-min, party members, and supporters posed holding placards that read "Overcome Hate Politics, A New Republic of Korea." The Future United Alliance is mainly composed of lawmakers who left the Democratic Party of Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Former leader Lee Nak-yeon, who left the Democratic Party and was preparing to establish his own party, is joining forces with non-Lee Jae-myung (Bi-Lee Jae-myung) faction figures to found the 'Saeroun Mirae' (New Future) party.

The 'Future Grand Alliance,' led by Bi-Lee Jae-myung faction members including lawmakers Kim Jong-min, Lee Won-wook, and Cho Eung-cheon, announced on the 4th that they have agreed to merge with former leader Lee's 'Saeroun Mirae' and will hold a joint founding convention at 2 p.m. in the National Assembly Members' Office Building. Initially, the tentative name for the unified new party was 'Reform Future Party,' but following a public contest among party members and supporters, 'Saeroun Mirae' was chosen as the most preferred name, according to Park Won-seok, co-chairman of the Future Grand Alliance's founding committee.

The party leadership will be jointly held by former leader Lee Nak-yeon, who is the head of Saeroun Mirae's Talent Committee, and lawmaker Kim Jong-min, co-chairman of the Future Grand Alliance's founding committee. The leadership structure will consist of party leaders and responsible committee members, with the election of the remaining leadership, including responsible committee members, delegated to the party leaders. The party's symbolic colors were decided as 'Prussian Blue,' symbolizing "joining forces to become a vast ocean," and 'Light Green,' representing the vitality of life such as sprouts, trees, and roots.

The party constitution of Saeroun Mirae includes provisions for ▲ a collective leadership system and protection of minorities ▲ independence and strengthened judicial functions of the Central Party Ethics Tribunal ▲ establishment of a 'Red Team' party affairs verification committee ▲ and specific candidate exclusion criteria to ensure the moral integrity of public office candidates. The party platform confirms six principles, including inheriting the spirit of former President Kim Dae-jung to create a country where the common people are happy and the middle class is strong, focusing on national interest and pragmatism with inclusive, centrist reformism, and realizing democratic politics based on the spirit of former President Roh Moo-hyun to establish a future vision.

By the day of the announcement, Saeroun Mirae had completed the founding of nine city and provincial party branches in Gyeongbuk, Busan, Gwangju, Jeonbuk, Gyeonggi, Chungbuk, Gangwon, Incheon, and Seoul, and plans to begin full-scale preparations for the general election starting with the central party founding convention.

Until the day before, there were concerns about the possible cancellation of the joint founding convention, as both sides showed conflict over strategies to form a third-zone big tent with the Reform New Party led by Lee Jun-seok. However, it appears they reached a last-minute reconciliation.

Originally, five parties were involved in the 'big tent' discussions, but with the launch of Saeroun Mirae, the parties have been narrowed down to three: the Reform New Party led by Lee Jun-seok, Korea's Hope led by Yang Hyang-ja, and the New Choice led by former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop.

At the founding convention, leaders Lee Jun-seok of the Reform New Party, lawmaker Yang Hyang-ja, and Geum Tae-seop of New Choice are scheduled to attend and deliver congratulatory speeches, drawing attention to whether the third-zone big tent discussions will accelerate.

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