hankyoreh

third from the left

With less than a month to go before the National Assembly election, the New Progressive Party was officially launched yesterday, as it promised to “redirect the vales of the 21st century toward the progressive bloc.” The members of the newly-formed party bolted from the Democratic Labor Party after the presidential election following an internal feud. Political observers wonder whether the party’s candidates will have enough time to campaign and how the newly-created party will fare in the April 9 elections.

In addition to announcing its formation, the NPP also released its list of candidates for seats up for grabs under the system of proportional representation. The first and second seats were given to Park Kim Young-hee, an activist who advocates for the rights of physically challenged women, and Lee Nam-shin, a former leader of E-Land’s labor union. Also included on the list were Pi Woo-jin, a former lieutenant colonel who is in the process of fighting a legal battle against the government, alleging that she was fired due to her breast cancer surgery, and Kim Seok-joon, a professor and the co-chairman of the NPP. The party is also fielding candidates with diverse backgrounds that include lawyers, civic and labor activists.

Sim Sang-jeong, the director of the NPP, said, “People want us to set up a progressive opposition party that can act as a strong and trusted counterbalance against the Lee Myung-bak administration, which has devastated people’s livelihoods. We will establish a party that can win the parliamentary election this time and give renewed hope to workers and ordinary people."

The new party’s objectives include building peace, a social coalition and a green nation. It is also pushing for the establishment of stability on the Korean Peninsula, assisting small- and medium-sized businesses and the resolution of many other issues related to the welfare of workers and socially-underprivileged people.

As it braces for the upcoming elections, the NPP seems to be trying to differentiate itself from the Democratic Labor Party, from which it broke last month. The feud between the party’s two main factions pitted the National Liberty faction, which places more emphasis on North Korea issues, against the People’s Democracy faction, which was more concerned with labor and other social issues and which has now become the NPP.

At the forefront of the NPP’s leadership are Sim Sang-jeong and Roh Hoe-chan, two high-profile former lawmakers who are expected to wage a fierce battle against the candidates of the ruling Grand National Party in the Seoul metropolitan area. Such popular figures as actress Kim Bu-soen, and cultural critic Chin Jung-kwon, will take up the work of promoting the party, while 12 of those running for proportional representation seats will appeal to voters.

Still, political observers have cast doubt over the NPP’s ability to gain a “meaningful number of seats in the election.” With the election just 20 days away, they worry that the party does not have an enough time to get its message across and appeal to voters. The number of candidates who will campaign in districts across the country was also reduced to 30, from the originally-planned 50. Even party insiders say that they are facing one of the worst situations ever.

A key party official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “In the end, the NPP should compete in the elections by appealing to voters with two such high-profile former lawmakers as Sim and Roh. If voters in Seoul give more weight to the balance factor, the two could likely win.” The official’s comments refer to what many see as the primary platform of the opposition United Democratic Party, which currently has the majority of seats in the National Assembly. The UDP says that its candidates, if elected will serve as a means of balancing government authority by keeping the president and his party, the GNP, in check. The GNP, meanwhile, is hoping that the idea of maintaining government stability via the election of its candidates will be what brings voters to its side.

The party official added, “Whatever it may cost, we will produce winners, making it a starting point for establishing a real progressive party.”

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