By Park Moo-jong
Since the election of President Moon Jae-in in May 2017, the losers, namely conservatives classified as rightists against Moon's so-called progressive leftists, have been in pieces and increasingly losing the confidence of the people, particularly those in their 20s and 30s.
Ahead of the crucial parliamentary elections on April 15, the split right-wing conservatives appear to be desperately seeking a dramatic unification of those opposing Moon's ruling power.
The fact is that they know the simple truth: "United we stand, divided we fall." This old tenet was also uttered by the founding father of the Republic of Korea, Dr. Syngman Rhee (1875-1965). The first president of the nation quoted the famous words in a speech at a ceremony on Oct. 17, 1945, to celebrate his return from the United States.
Exactly 244 years ago, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), one of the founding fathers of the United States, said at the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, "We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately."
The conservatives are expected to create a unified political party no later than early next month to campaign in the general election, after many twists and turns.
Given the unique political practice in this country, the opposition led by the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) is likely to set sail under a new flag, namely a new party name.
Heading into an election, either parliamentary or presidential, losers of the previous polls used to resort to a classic "Korean strategy" to attract voters: a change of the party's name.
Here are two questions: "Which is the oldest existing political party in Korea? The other is: "How many political parties have there been over the past 60 years?" Is it the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) or the opposition LKP?
It is neither of the two.
The party that existed for the longest period is the now-defunct Democratic Republican Party (1963-1980), founded by the 1961 May 16 coup leaders under the leadership of the late President Park Chung-hee (1917-1979).
The ruling DPK was created Dec. 28, 2015, led by the then presidential candidate Moon Jae-in for the Dec. 20 presidential poll, as the successor to the Democratic Alliance for New Politics (DANP) founded in March 2014.
The LKP was founded in February 2017 as the successor of the then ruling Saenuri Party a month before President Park Geun-hye was unseated by the Constitutional Court's decision to approve the parliamentary impeachment of Park.
The meeting of and parting with political forces, especially opposition ones, has been a merry-go-round in the political history of South Korea.
As a "natural" result, more than 250 parties have appeared or vanished before and after various elections since the establishment of the Republic of Korea in 1948.
So, politicians have had to rack their brains over finding a "good and fresh" name for a new party because the names of the many past parties must be excluded.
Some succeeded and some failed after changing their names. In other fields of society, the changing of names is not usual except for a few such as professional boxer Muhammad Ali, formerly Cassius Clay; and pro basketball player Lewis Alcindor-turned-Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
In comparison, most advanced countries hold fast to a solid two-party system with both the ruling and opposition parties having survived for up to 300 years.
For instance, the Conservative (Tory) Party in Britain was created in 1669. The Democratic Party in the United States came into being in 1792, while its rival Republican Party was founded in 1854. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Japan was established in 1955. The Communist Party of China, Russia and North Korea are still the Communist Party.
Before changing the signboards of their parties prior to elections, politicians have to think about first why the people are so fed up with politics and why they distrust them.
The times have changed. The old-fashioned habit of changing labels to woo voters does not work now. What the people want is not the change of party names, but honesty from politicians who do not lie to them.
They have to concentrate on placing themselves at the service of the nation, not the nation at their service.
The now-defunct Millennium Democratic Party (MDP), created by the late President Kim Dae-jung in 2000, existed for only eight years, though he "hoped" it would last for at least 100.
Park Moo-jong (emjei29@gmail.com) is a standing adviser of The Korea Times. He served as the president-publisher of the nation's first English daily newspaper from 2004 to 2014 after working as a reporter since 1974.
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Ahead of the crucial parliamentary elections on April 15, the split right-wing conservatives appear to be desperately seeking a dramatic unification of those opposing Moon's ruling power.
The fact is that they know the simple truth: "United we stand, divided we fall." This old tenet was also uttered by the founding father of the Republic of Korea, Dr. Syngman Rhee (1875-1965). The first president of the nation quoted the famous words in a speech at a ceremony on Oct. 17, 1945, to celebrate his return from the United States.
Exactly 244 years ago, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), one of the founding fathers of the United States, said at the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, "We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately."
The conservatives are expected to create a unified political party no later than early next month to campaign in the general election, after many twists and turns.
Given the unique political practice in this country, the opposition led by the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) is likely to set sail under a new flag, namely a new party name.
Heading into an election, either parliamentary or presidential, losers of the previous polls used to resort to a classic "Korean strategy" to attract voters: a change of the party's name.
Here are two questions: "Which is the oldest existing political party in Korea? The other is: "How many political parties have there been over the past 60 years?" Is it the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) or the opposition LKP?
It is neither of the two.
The party that existed for the longest period is the now-defunct Democratic Republican Party (1963-1980), founded by the 1961 May 16 coup leaders under the leadership of the late President Park Chung-hee (1917-1979).
The ruling DPK was created Dec. 28, 2015, led by the then presidential candidate Moon Jae-in for the Dec. 20 presidential poll, as the successor to the Democratic Alliance for New Politics (DANP) founded in March 2014.
The LKP was founded in February 2017 as the successor of the then ruling Saenuri Party a month before President Park Geun-hye was unseated by the Constitutional Court's decision to approve the parliamentary impeachment of Park.
The meeting of and parting with political forces, especially opposition ones, has been a merry-go-round in the political history of South Korea.
As a "natural" result, more than 250 parties have appeared or vanished before and after various elections since the establishment of the Republic of Korea in 1948.
So, politicians have had to rack their brains over finding a "good and fresh" name for a new party because the names of the many past parties must be excluded.
Some succeeded and some failed after changing their names. In other fields of society, the changing of names is not usual except for a few such as professional boxer Muhammad Ali, formerly Cassius Clay; and pro basketball player Lewis Alcindor-turned-Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
In comparison, most advanced countries hold fast to a solid two-party system with both the ruling and opposition parties having survived for up to 300 years.
For instance, the Conservative (Tory) Party in Britain was created in 1669. The Democratic Party in the United States came into being in 1792, while its rival Republican Party was founded in 1854. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Japan was established in 1955. The Communist Party of China, Russia and North Korea are still the Communist Party.
Before changing the signboards of their parties prior to elections, politicians have to think about first why the people are so fed up with politics and why they distrust them.
The times have changed. The old-fashioned habit of changing labels to woo voters does not work now. What the people want is not the change of party names, but honesty from politicians who do not lie to them.
They have to concentrate on placing themselves at the service of the nation, not the nation at their service.
The now-defunct Millennium Democratic Party (MDP), created by the late President Kim Dae-jung in 2000, existed for only eight years, though he "hoped" it would last for at least 100.
Park Moo-jong (emjei29@gmail.com) is a standing adviser of The Korea Times. He served as the president-publisher of the nation's first English daily newspaper from 2004 to 2014 after working as a reporter since 1974.
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