Opposition party changes name

Striving to renew its image prior to the April general elections, the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy revised its name to “Together Democratic Party” on Monday.

With this, the party moved closer to its former and most recognized name “Democratic Party,” and also removed any trace of defected cochairman Ahn Cheol-soo, whose signature slogan is “new politics.”

“The party decided that the title Together (‘deobuleo’ in Korean) Democratic Party, though not 100 percent in accord with public opinion, was best fitted for the current political situation,” said Sohn Hye-won, head of the party’s publicity committee.

This new name, chosen from five final entries, was submitted to the National Election Commission and took immediate legal effect.

A new party identity, along with the official translation in English, will be announced as early as in the first week of January, which is weeks ahead of the original plan, according to party officials.

“We are the nation’s leading opposition party, but the name NPAD may erroneously convey the image of a minority coalition,” said Sohn.

NPAD, one of the most intricate party names ever, was created when independent lawmaker Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo joined the former Democratic Party in March 2014, in a move to combine the divided progressive groups.

Now with Ahn out of the picture, the party’s best scenario would be to return to its best-known title “Democratic Party,” but the name is currently taken by an extraparliamentary minority party led by an aide to the late President Kim Dae-jung.

The NPAD’s sudden rush to rebrand itself was triggered by the growing momentum in Ahn Cheol-soo’s camp and the consequent series of defections from within the party.

On Sunday, Ahn added momentum to his electoral itinerary by announcing the blueprint of his forthcoming political party and attacking the Park Geun-hye administration.

Amid growing concerns about the NPAD’s election prospects, 67 party members ― mostly based in vote-sensitive metropolitan constituencies ― demanded that an election committee be established and take over from party leader Moon Jae-in.

But Moon decided to hold out, claiming a collapse of leadership at this moment would only aggravate the situation.

“I will no longer tolerate any talk on my possible resignation,” he said Monday.

“Those of you who have been hinting at defecting, I request you to withdraw your thoughts for the sake of the party.”

But he would consider the idea of introducing an earlier-than-expected election committee, if necessary, he added.

Despite Moon’s call, the series of defections continued.

Reps. Choi Jae-cheon and Kwon Eun-hee said Monday they would exit the NPAD, the former pledging to leave politics and the latter to join defected Rep. Chun Jung-bae’s new party.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)