Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.
Ruling party to launch body to mark March 1 movement with NK
Rep. Lee Hae-chan, center, the head of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, speaks during a party meeting at the National Assembly, Wednesday. / Yonhap
By Park Ji-won
By Park Ji-won
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) will set up a special committee to come up with measures to hold a joint event with the North in March and prepare for 2020 general election and the 2022 presidential election.
The DPK will launch the committee tentatively called the “New Centennial Committee for the Korean Peninsula” to push for holding a joint event with the North to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement and the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai in 1919 during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule as well as coming up with measures to win the upcoming elections to stay in power, party insiders said Wednesday.
“The DPK leadership group shared ideas to establish the direction of 2019 and came up with the idea to form the committee. It will focus on holding a joint ceremonial event with the North and discussing peace and prosperity,” a source familiar with the matter said.
“We think the two Koreas can discuss holding the joint event as the two share the same values on the day with the same historical background,” DPK spokeswoman Rep. Lee Jae-jung said Wednesday.
The move is in line with DPK leader Lee Hae-chan's 20-year plan to stay in power as the ruling party amid opposition parties' criticism of failing the country's economy while facing a decreasing in approval rate. He revealed Wednesday the party will deal mainly with three topics this year: revitalizing the economy, establishing peace and building a foundation for the next 100 years.
“It is an important task to win a large victory in the general election to establish the country's democracy. It is to win the presidency again in 2022 as the last bastion of protecting peace and democracy,” Lee pledged during a celebration event for the New Year Tuesday.
The move is also in line with the government's plan to prepare commemorative events with North Korea for the 100th anniversary this year.
President Moon Jae-in pledged last year that the South will invite the North to the anniversary event and build a memorial hall for the provisional government, recover the command headquarters of Korean independence forces located in Chongqing, southwestern China, and revise regulations about support for descendants of independence fighters so a larger number of descendants can benefit.
The DPK also plans to expand its footprint on Youtube. It has launched its official Youtube channel “SSM” in December. But it is spending a hard time to attract more subscribers than so-called conservative politicians.
“We are trying to explore more opportunities as much as possible as we commonly think it is not good enough,” Lee Jae-jung said.