Political parties change names too frequently
By Choi Ha-young
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Logo of the Liberty Korea Party
The ruling party recently renamed itself the Liberty Korea Party (LKP). This is the fifth time the conservative party has changed its name since democracy started taking root here in 1987.
The opposition bloc jointly denounced the move as an attempt to boost its sluggish approval rating. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said the name change was “deceiving,” while the second-largest opposition People’s Party said a new name means nothing as long as there is no new blood.
However, the liberal parties are not free from criticism either. Currently, the oldest name for a Korean party is less than four years ― the Justice Party that was established in July 2013. The one-year-old People’s Party is the second oldest one. Recently, the People’s Party also considered a new party name while inviting opposition bigwig Sohn Hak-kyu to join.
Analysts commonly point out unstable party politics as the biggest reason for the frequent re-naming, which is partly due to the country’s short history of democracy.
“Political parties here lack any ideological tradition,” said Shin Yul, a professor of political science at Myongji University. “Instead of a system, heavyweights have aroused changes in the party.”
The Saenuri Party was named by then-interim leader Park Geun-hye in 2012. With the new name, the conservative party overcame hardship, taking 152 seats out of 299 in the National Assembly. Now, the ruling party is trying to remove all traces of the scandal-hit President Park.
Interestingly, the ruling party’s poll statistics are reviving amid this effort, even without a palpable change in policy lines. According to Gallup Korea, it increased by two percentage points this week from a week ago, standing at 13 percent.
The lineage of the liberal bloc is more complicated. The largest liberal group has had repeated divisions and integrations, which has led to about 18 different names over the last 30 years. Former President Kim Dae-jung launched the National Congress for New Politics in 1995 and loyalists to former President Roh Moo-hyun organized the Uri Party in 2004.
The DPK, also called The Minjoo Party, adopted the name in December 2015, when Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo and those based in Jeolla region broke away from it to form the People’s Party.
“This shows the composition of conservative voters is more loyal and uniform,” said Kim Wook, a professor of political science at Paichai University. “Meanwhile, liberal voters are more fluid and diverse, so liberal politicians find the need to transform their identity for their supporters.”
In the same vein, liberal parties’ names are more ideology-oriented, usually themed with “democracy,” which is “minjoo” in Korean. It shows their identity based on anti-dictatorship struggles. “For the conservatives, it’s hard to clarify their ideology in their names due to its pro-military dictatorship origin,” professor Shin said.
Political science Professor Im Hyug-baeg at Korea University expected ongoing anti-President candlelit rallies would help the parties build up their identities. “Citizens’ calls on the streets prevent renowned politicians from abusing power for their factions’ interest.”
“On the other hand, passionate fandom for politicians gained power recently, which may undermine the political party system,” Im said. “If parties ensure sustainable ideology for voters, people will form an identification with the party and it will create parties with a long tradition.”