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| ▲ This undated file photo shows the logo of the main opposition People Power Party. (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) opposition party-name
(LEAD) Embattled main opposition party to change name
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By Yi Wonju
SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) -- The embattled main opposition People Power Party (PPP) said Monday it has decided to change its name next month in a symbolic move to shed its image before the local elections less than five months away.
Rebranding the party was among a set of reform measures unveiled by PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok at a press conference last week where he issued an apology for former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration.
The conservative party has been in disarray over the aftermath of Yoon's failed attempt to impose martial law.
The decision was announced at the party's supreme council meeting, with more than 68 percent in favor of the revision, amid the PPP's efforts to revamp its image following the martial law bid.
The PPP plans to hold a public contest for the party's new name next month.
If confirmed, the party's name, adopted in early September 2020, will be scrapped after around five years, marking the conservative party's fifth name change.
The conservative bloc has typically rebranded its party name following major political crises, including impeachment, corruption scandals or election defeats.
Since the establishment of the Democratic Liberal Party in 1990, the party changed its name to the New Korea Party in 1996 following the imprisonments of former Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, before rebranding as the Grand National Party the following year.
The party changed its name to the Saenuri Party in 2012, and then rebranded as the Liberty Korea Party following the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye in 2017, and as the United Future Party in 2020 ahead of the general elections.
The party adopted its current name, the PPP, just six months later after its defeat in the elections.
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