[After Deadline] Changing, Removing, and Adding... The Reasons Behind Party Name Satire and Parody

Frequent Party Name Changes Cause Voter Fatigue
'Party Name Satire' Spreads as Meme
Issues with Naming Lacking Direction and Identity
Party Act Prohibits Use of Similar Names

Editor's Note‘After Deadline’ delivers in-depth stories that couldn't be covered in print through online channels. Moving beyond breaking news, straight reports, and brief articles that everyone remembers as results, it presents the backstories, issues, points of debate, and pros and cons with various visual materials.

Logos of the U.S. Republican and Democratic parties (from left). The Republican and Democratic parties, the pillars of the U.S. two-party system, each have histories spanning over 150 and 200 years, respectively.

"Since we're going to merge anyway, how about the cafeteria?"

"Choose from Villain Party, Clumsy Party, Traitor Party, America Party, or Japanese Remnant Party."

As the name of former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon's new party, tentatively called the Reform Future Party, is similar to the Reform New Party led by former leader Lee Jun-seok, both sides have clashed and exchanged heated words. Meanwhile, political communities are spreading memes parodying and satirizing party names.

On the surface, the issue is 'party name plagiarism,' but the reactions reflect cynicism toward hastily formed parties with unclear lines and identities that appear and disappear like new shops opening and closing. Party names often include words like ‘Future,’ ‘Freedom,’ ‘Democracy,’ ‘Unity,’ ‘Reform,’ and ‘People,’ with changes made by adding or removing these terms, but critics say that despite different packaging, the content remains the same.

Especially in comments on articles about the controversy over the Reform Future Party's name, many satirical and parodic remarks expressing political disgust or cynicism appeared. Words ending with ‘-dang’ (party) such as ‘cafeteria,’ ‘villain,’ ‘clumsy,’ ‘rogue,’ ‘villain,’ and ‘rogue’ were used to mock and satirize party names.

Former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok (right), Yang Hyang-ja, leader of Hope of Korea, and former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon are seated side by side at Yang's book launch event held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 9th. (Photo by Yonhap News)

According to political circles on the 3rd, since the clash over the name ‘Reform Future Party (tentative)’ led by former leader Lee Nak-yeon and former leader Lee Jun-seok, moves toward unification have quieted down. Initially, former leader Lee Jun-seok strongly criticized the new party’s name containing the word ‘Reform,’ saying, “The intention seems clear,” and “Free-riding is unacceptable whether it’s on the subway or in party names.”

This is not the first time a ‘party name plagiarism’ controversy has arisen. The current conservative People Power Party changed its name from the United Future Party in 2020, and at that time, lawmaker Jeong Cheong-rae claimed the name was stolen because it was identical to a civic group name he created in 2003. There were also criticisms that it was similar to the People’s Party founded by lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo. The same happened with the Grand Unified Democratic New Party formed in 2007 by defectors from the Uri Party and the Democratic Party. When this party used the abbreviation ‘Democratic New Party,’ the Democratic Party filed an injunction to ban its use, claiming the names were too similar, and the court accepted it. In 2014, after the Democratic United Party and Ahn Cheol-soo’s New Politics Alliance merged into the New Politics Democratic Union and tried to use the abbreviation ‘New Politics,’ the existing New Politics People’s Party raised plagiarism issues, saying it was confused with their abbreviation ‘New Politics Party.’ The following year, the New Politics Democratic Union changed its name to the Democratic Party of Korea.

In fact, the Political Parties Act prohibits parties from using similar names. The names (including abbreviations) of party formation committees and parties must be clearly distinguishable from those already registered or in use. The Reform Future Party’s name is similar to ‘Future Party,’ which is registered with the National Election Commission, so there is a possibility the commission may reject it.

New Future homepage party name contest announcement led by Representative Lee Nak-yeon (Photo from New Future site capture)

Experts interpret that party names should encapsulate the identity, values, and aspirations of new parties, but hastily formed parties that appear and disappear like pop-up shops have made ‘politics of party naming’ ineffective. Professor Choi Chang-ryeol of Yongin University said, “Without party identity, repeated defections and mergers around nominations during elections create ‘foam parties’ that vanish like bubbles,” adding, “As a result, it’s difficult to find fresh party names, and voters’ political disgust deepens.”

Professor Choi said, “Third parties have invariably been absorbed by major parties, differing only in the timing of unification,” and “This is a problem caused by the lack of clear orientation and political color of parties.” He added, “The weak party identity stems from the relatively short history of democracy but can also be seen as a crisis of democracy.” Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon stated, “Party names should include the spirit of the times, the background and tradition of the party’s birth, and its aspirations, but hastily created names throughout constitutional history have caused voter fatigue regarding party names themselves.”