[Column] The Facade of Party Name Changes: Questioning the Whereabouts of the 3.3 Billion Won Masks

The act of a political party changing its name is always adorned with flashy phrases like "a new beginning" and "renewal."

The countless party name changes-from the New Korea Party to the People Power Party, and from the Millennium Democratic Party to the Democratic Party of Korea-are massive projects that require tens of billions of won in budget.

However, voters ask the following question.

Have those tens of billions spent and the noisy replacement of party signs ever brought even as much warmth as a single mask to the lives of the people?

The authenticity of renewal is not proven by simply changing name tags, but by action that responds to the suffering of the people.

During the dark days of 2020 when COVID-19 swept through Daegu and Gyeongbuk, Gyeonggi Province, under Governor Lee Jaemyung, sent 5 billion won from its disaster relief fund to Daegu and Gyeongbuk.

This money included every last bit of local tax, even that paid by a five-year-old child from Gyeonggi Province buying candy-it truly carried the heart of Gyeonggi residents.

Of this, 3.5 billion won was allocated to purchase 3.5 million masks, which were as vital as a lifeline at the time.

Yet, tragically, for nearly seventy days after the budget was executed, masks worth 3.3 billion won never reached the faces of Daegu and Gyeongbuk residents.

When I was covering the Blue House, I reported on this astonishing fact, but not only did the local media in Daegu and Gyeongbuk remain silent, so did the central media outlets stationed in the region, as if by some unspoken agreement.

Amid administrative incompetence and media neglect, what was meant for the citizens remained tied up somewhere in a warehouse.

At the time, Kwon Youngjin, the mayor of Daegu, consistently avoided answering, and the only sign of communication was a text message from Lee Cheolwoo, the governor of Gyeongbuk, humbly accepting the criticism and expressing his thanks.

This tragic "missing mask incident" starkly illustrates what our politics should prioritize.

While the ruling and opposition parties are obsessed with protocol for summit meetings and display a sense of privilege by excluding minor parties, or spend tens of billions changing party names and polishing signs, people on the ground are desperately crying out for survival over issues as urgent as a single mask or a long-awaited local project.

It is now time to thoroughly separate policy from politics.

Pledges and policies for regional development are not the exclusive property of any one side.

Nevertheless, the practice of intentionally excluding opposition party members who worked together at events celebrating administrative achievements is not renewal but a petty old habit.

If the opposition People Power Party recognizes the Lee Jaemyung administration's pragmatic diplomacy and vows to compete with "better policies," then the ruling Democratic Party must also show inclusiveness by respecting the efforts of the other side and sharing achievements.

The 5 billion won used to change a party's name could have purchased 5 million masks to protect the lives of the people during the COVID-19 crisis.

Changing the signboard does not renew the essence of a political party.

True renewal comes from honesty that does not steal credit for others' achievements, humility to work together regardless of party in the face of disaster, and the sense of responsibility from both the media and politicians to ensure that not a single penny of the budget-including taxes paid by children-is wasted.

Changing a party name without cooperation is a deception of the people.

It is no different from a commercial trick that tries to fool voters by changing only the packaging while the quality of the rice inside remains the same.

Unlike the United States, where party names have remained unchanged for over 150 years and competition is based on policy, the outdated practice in Korean political history of changing party signs depending on the individual must come to an end.

If politicians continue to monopolize achievements for people's livelihoods or exclude the opposition under new, expensive signs, the public will forever remember that party as "an old sack with only its name changed."

It is now time for both the media and politicians to face the truth and the weight of responsibility hidden behind the names.