Lee Jun-seok Criticizes 'Gaehyeok Miraedang' Party Name... "Simply Borrowed Neighbor's Name"

by Lim Chunhan

Published 28 Jan.2024 11:40(KST)

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform New Party, criticized the decision by the Future Coalition, mainly composed of lawmakers who left the Democratic Party of Korea, and the New Future led by former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon to jointly establish a provisional party called the "Reform Future Party," saying, "It's not just that there are two phones in a Chinese restaurant, but rather that they intend to directly borrow the name of a newly opened Chinese restaurant next door just because it is somewhat known."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, Lee said on Facebook, "In a situation where the Reform New Party has launched and is making reform the main issue, the fact that the Future Coalition and New Future are merging and planning to use the party name 'Reform Future Party' clearly shows their intention," adding, "Free-riding is problematic whether it is on the subway or in party names."

Earlier, Park Won-seok, co-leader of the Future Coalition, and Shin Kyung-min, National Communication Committee Chair of New Future, explained, "The upcoming provincial party founding conventions after today will have the character of a joint founding convention of the two parties, and the central party founding convention will be held on February 4," adding, "The name of the unified party has been decided as the Reform Future Party (provisional). It carries the meaning of leading political reform, social reform, and livelihood reform, and moving toward the future."

They stated, "The leadership system and personnel of the Reform Future Party will be finalized and announced at the founding convention. We have agreed to reject hegemony and operate the party based on the principles and systems of democratic consensus," emphasizing, "We will present the party platform and election pledges starting this week, with democracy, livelihood, and the future as the core keywords."