Three centrist parties join the Party for Future Integration

Centrist and youth parties have declared to join the Party for Future Integration, which is now ready to be launched by appointing four senior members.

“Three centrist parties will join the Party for Future Integration,” Jeong Byeong-guk, co-chair of the preparatory committee for the new party, said at a press conference on Sunday. “It will be the starting point of our victory in the general elections as it will broaden the areas for innovation and politics of our party.” The new party, which is comprised of the Liberty Korea Party, the New Conservative Party and the Onward for Future 4.0, will absorb three more parties before its launch on Monday.

Leaders of the three parties are in their 30s. Cho Seong-eun, leader of the Brand New Party and former emergency committee member of the People’s Party, is known to be more liberal than conservative. “I thought I would never work with the LKP, but now I don’t really have moral priorities and values to defend liberal parties,” she said.

The new party appointed senior members on the same day. Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong, Lee Jun-seok of the New Conservative Party, former lawmaker Kim Young-hwan, and Onward for Future 4.0 chief Kim Won-seong joined are among the 12 senior members. “We have some young members joined as senior members, including reformist Kim Young-hwan,” said Kim Eun-hye, spokesperson of the Committee for Innovation and Integration. “We will be able to reflect voices of the youth in the leadership of the new party.”

The new party has invited Rep. Lee Jeong-hyun to join. “We are persuading him to join us to build force for impeachment even though some would disagree,” said an insider of the party.


Jun-Il Kim jikim@donga.com