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Shim Jae-chul of Liberty Korea Party (third from left), Jeong Byeong-gook of the New Conservative Party (far right), and Lee Un-ju, co-president of Onward for Future 4.0 (fourth from left) green each other during a meeting for a merger of conservative parties at the National Assembly on Feb. 10. (Kang Chang-kwang, staff photographer)

The Unified New Party Preparation Committee -- bringing together the Liberty Korea Party (LKP), the New Conservative Party (NCP), and conservative groups outside of political office -- has tentatively decided on “New Unity Party” as a name for an integrated conservative party.

With the LKP announcing its acceptance of NCP lawmaker Yoo Seong-min’s proposal to merge parties, discussions toward the establishment of a new unified party have been gathering steam among conservative members of the political opposition.

Meeting with reporters at the National Assembly on Feb. 10, Park Hyeong-joon, co-head of the preparation committee, said, “We made the decision on the new party’s name based on our aim of achieving unity between moderates and conservatives and the principle that we should be establishing a unified force spanning a wide range of philosophies, regions, and generations.”

“While it still needs to go through internal discussions by the different parties, we’ve provisionally decided on ‘New Unity Party’ as a name,” he added.

With Feb. 16 set as its deadline, the preparation committee is now ramping up its practical efforts for the party’s establishment.

“The schedule for nominations [for the Apr. 15 general election] is very tight, and a majority of us agreed that in view of the political schedule, it’s best not to wait until next week,” Park said, adding that “discussions will begin tomorrow on forming a nomination management committee at the preparation committee level.”

In a supreme lawmakers’ council meeting at the National Assembly the same morning, LKP leader Hwang Kyo-ahn said, “It’s being pursued by the preparation committee, but we will be working to conclude discussions among parties as quickly as possible.”

“I’ll do my best to enable the preparation committee to reach a conclusion,” he said. Regarding Yoo’s announcement the day before that he would not be seeking reelection, Hwang said, “Yoo has stated his principled position on the merging of parties and not running in the general election, and we in the LKP actively welcome this as we pursue greater unity among forces for liberal democracy.”

But the LKP and the NCP have also differed in their takes on the “new party merger” suggested by Yoo, and with differences being voiced on the leadership makeup and the role of politicians who are potential presidential contenders, some struggles remain before the integration becomes a reality. The NCP’s position is that party merger discussions should extend beyond the preparation committee to center on a “party-to-party delegation body” with legal standing. At a meeting of party representatives, Yu Eui-dong, senior representative of the NCP, said, “What I wish to say is that now is not a time for figuring out how to save ourselves, but a time for resolution to save the country.”

Ha Tae-keung, co-head of the NCP, ssaid, “There needs to be reforms to the leadership [before integration happens]. If we build a new house and then fill it with the same people, that’s ‘integration’ only in a superficial sense.”

“We need reforms that go beyond words. The unified party cannot give pride of place to people who haven’t reformed, people who haven’t crossed the river of impeachment,” Ha continued, ratcheting up pressure for a full-scale changing of the guard with Hwang and the LKP nomination management committee.

The next question is whether Hwang and Yoo will meet to strike a deal. An NCP source said, “We could get a much better result from unification if the two of them meet in the interests of contributing substance to the integration efforts.”

At the same time, the source predicted, “This is not something that’s going to be achieved in a day or do, and there will need to be an ongoing exchange of opinions to lay the groundwork.”

By Kim Mi-na and Jang Na-rye, staff reporters

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