People Power Party to Decide New Name as Early as This Weekend, Shortlists Two Candidates

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[Financial News] The People Power Party has narrowed the candidates for its new name down to two, and is expected to finalize its choice as early as this weekend.
According to Yonhap News Agency on the 19th, party leader Jang Dong-hyuk reached this decision at a meeting held the previous day at the National Assembly with floor leader Song Eon-seok, policy committee chair Jeong Jeom-sik, and secretary-general Jeong Hee-yong. At the meeting, lawmaker Seo Ji-young, who heads the party’s public relations office, and former lawmaker Kim Su-min, who leads the party’s brand strategy task force (TF), reported two shortlisted names selected from entries gathered through a public contest and other channels.
Jang reportedly raised no particular objections after being briefed on the shortlist. One participant explained that the party plans to decide on the logo and official color after the new name is chosen, and then make comprehensive adjustments.
The People Power Party plans to submit the party name change proposal to a Supreme Council meeting early next week and also collect opinions at a general meeting of lawmakers. If necessary, the Supreme Council meeting scheduled for next week could be moved up to this weekend in an emergency format. Once the final candidate is selected through this process, the new name is expected to be confirmed following approval by the Standing National Committee and the National Committee.
Chief spokesperson Park Sung-hoon told reporters at the National Assembly that day, "Changing the party’s name is one of the concrete ways to show our efforts to broaden the party’s appeal," adding, "Since more than half of party members already voted in favor of changing the name, it will be difficult to reverse that decision."
He added, "Next week we intend to finalize the new party name and, on March 1, present the party’s new image to the public through banners." If the name change takes effect on March 1, the name "People Power Party," adopted in early September 2020, will disappear into history after about five and a half years.
However, some lawmakers are said to have voiced concern that changing the party’s name just over three months before the June 3 local elections would not leave voters enough time to become familiar with the new name. They also worry that candidates will face a heavy financial burden because they would have to replace all campaign clothing and other materials bearing the old name.
bng@fnnews.com Kim Hee-sun Reporter