"Declaration of the Founding of the 'Blockchain Party'... Yang Hyangja's New Party Has No Established Politicians"

No Active Lawmaker Participation... Composed Mainly of Scholars
Emphasis on Transparent Party Management Using 'Blockchain Technology'
Geum Tae-seop and Others Draw Line on Third-Force Alliance Possibility

"The Republic of Korea must now cross over into a new era."

Yang Hyang-ja, an independent lawmaker formerly affiliated with the Democratic Party of Korea, has emerged as the first to launch a new party ahead of next year's general election. She announced her intention to establish a party called "Hope of Korea," with the catchphrases "Good Politics, Science Politics, and Everyday Politics." She also expressed her ambition to introduce the world's first "blockchain platform" to fundamentally block corruption and outdated practices.

Yang Hyang-ja, Chairperson of the Preparatory Committee for the Establishment of Hope of Korea, is announcing the party founding declaration at the Hope of Korea Party Founding Promoters' Convention held on the 26th at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On that day, Representative Yang stood at the podium dressed in a coordinated orange suit. At the "Hope of Korea Founding Promoters' Meeting" held at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, she held and waved a party flag that was half orange and half navy blue. She said, "Today, I am wearing the orange clothes of the word hope," and added, "I am truly honored to be with you at this historic moment of starting new politics."

About 300 to 400 people attended the event. Among the promoters who will jointly push for the party's founding, 1,023 people registered their names. The representative promoters mainly consisted of scholars and businesspeople, including Representative Yang, Choi Jin-seok, honorary professor of philosophy at Sogang University, Lim Hyung-kyu, former head of Samsung Group's new business team, Kim Yong-seok, professor at Sungkyunkwan University, and Choi Yeon-hyeok, professor of political science at Linnaeus University in Sweden (principal of Hope of Korea Political School).

However, no incumbent politicians attended. Although it was reported that five incumbent members of the National Assembly had shown interest in the party's founding, no sitting lawmakers attended the event except Jo Jung-hoon, a member of the Transition Korea party, who visited to show support.

Yang Hyang-ja, Chairperson of the Preparatory Committee for the Founding of Hope of Korea, and Jo Jeong-hoon, Member of the National Assembly from the Transition Era party, are greeting at the Hope of Korea Founding Promoters' Meeting held on the 26th at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

When the announcement began, Representative Yang stated, "The people say, 'This cannot continue as it is.' They cry out that they can no longer live like this," explaining the purpose of founding the party. She criticized the existing political circles, saying, "Politics led by the two major parties is merely a power game and a struggle for vested interests," and added, "The 'regime change' they lead is nothing but a 'change of vested interests.'"

As a distinguishing feature of the party, she proposed a "blockchain platform party." Emphasizing that it is the world's first party to apply blockchain technology, she expressed confidence that party information could be managed transparently. Representative Yang explained, "Members who have completed identity verification through DID (Decentralized Identity) technology propose agendas via the platform," and "Once the proposed content is digitized and recorded on the blockchain, it is disclosed in real-time to all members through the platform." She also stated that funds would be managed transparently. "When funds are stored on-chain data (a data system accessible to anyone) through real-time mirroring, members supervise the fund's progress," she said.

The new party pledged to relinquish all privileges held by members of the National Assembly. She declared, "I will give up all privileged statuses, benefits, and support of National Assembly members," and "Using this momentum, I will also strip all privileges enjoyed by social vested interests." The attendees at the venue responded with shouts of "That's right" and applause and cheers.

Following this, attendees held placards reading "We are the Hope of Korea" and "Hope Of Korea," loudly shouting, "Now let's cross over."

Yang Hyang-ja, Chairperson of the Preparatory Committee for the Founding of Hope of Korea, and Jo Jeong-hoon, Member of the National Assembly from the Transition Era party, are announcing the founding declaration at the Hope of Korea Founding Promoters' Convention held on the 26th in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Regarding criticism about the low participation of incumbent lawmakers, Representative Yang firmly stated, "I am not interested in how many lawmakers participate." She said, "Everyone asks, 'Who are you working with? How many lawmakers are participating?'" and added, "I am interested in whether the people of the Republic of Korea will participate in Hope of Korea." She then pointedly said, "Aren't you all big shots? You all have heroic life trajectories; you are all big shots."

On the possibility of alliances with third-party new parties such as former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop's group, she drew a clear line, saying, "I don't think anyone has broken out of their current party to join us." Representative Yang said, "Those who can join us must share philosophy, vision, values, and dreams," and "Joining is possible only when one can completely let go of oneself and is confirmed to be someone who thinks about the Republic of Korea."

Representative Yang plans to complete the founding process by establishing five city and provincial party branches (Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gwangju, Busan, Chungnam) within August, and then launch a political school starting September 2. The political school aims to nurture 100 talents per class and recruit them into the party.