Chun promotes visions for new party

Chun Jung-bae

By Do Je-hae

Rep. Chun Jung-bae is promoting a vision for a new party with nationwide lectures that started this week.

The independent lawmaker has been at the center of speculation of the formation of a new party since his by-election win in Gwangju, a stronghold of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD). Chun, formerly an NPAD lawmaker who had ties with late President Kim Dae-jung, has been talking openly about the resurgence of the “DJ spirit.”

He is reportedly gathering experts from various sectors to work with him to create a new party.

Chun envisions a party that can take power in the 2017 presidential election. “I am talking with people from all over the country,” he said during a radio interview Wednesday.” “More details will be announced sometime in August.

“There are many people who are calling for a new reform party with nationwide support, not just from the Honam region. The NPAD has already lost its ability to take power.”

The lecture series is viewed as an attempt to raise his profile outside Honam. He started the series in Daejeon Monday, speaking on “The Future of Korean Politics,” which he believes should combine conservative and reformist ideals.

Chun has stressed that his venture for a new party is a response to the wishes of the people in Gwangju, who have been disappointed with the mainstream faction of the NPAD led by Chairman Moo Jae-in. Chun, who won in Gwangju as an independent, is aligned with the faction that supports the late former President Roh Moo-hyun. Moon was Roh’s chief of staff and Chun was his justice minister.

“When I talked to people in Gwangju, nine out of 10 people said that they want to see a new party,” he said during a press conference in Daejeon, Monday. “There are huge expectations for a new party. We are trying to acquire the necessary conditions.”

He criticized the NPAD for not fully serving its role as the largest opposition. “It has become an incompetent and flaccid party,” he said. Intense factional feuding led to an embarrassing defeat in the April 29 by-elections where it failed to win a single seat.

His next lecture is in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province.