Council remains firm on new name, despite opposition from some members

The ruling Saenuri Party confirmed its new logo and name, and changed the party’s color from blue to red and white.

The party’s emergency leadership council, led by Rep. Park Geun-hye, agreed on the new set of symbols in its general meeting on Tuesday, according to officials.

“The red and white motif is derived from the traditional Taegeuk pattern drawn on the Korean national flag,” said a party official.

“The white stands for the Korean people and the red for their passion.”

The red color, a change from the long-standing blue, will also remind the public of the Red Devils, the Korean soccer cheering squad, he said.

The new logo portrays a wide bowl in which people may unite as one, regardless of their age, wealth and social classes, he explained.

“It also describes a set of lips or an ear, when seen from a vertical perspective, reflecting the party’s determination to listen to the people’s calls,” he said.

The adoption of the party symbol reflected the interim leader Rep. Park’s determination to confirm the party’s new name.

The ruling party’s leadership council, in an attempt to renew its public image and start anew, recently resolved to change the party’s name from Grand National to “Saenuri,” meaning “new world” in Korean.

The name caused resistance from within the right-wing camp and scorn from the opposition, who branded it as having frivolous connotations.

Many also mocked the conservative party’s recent online campaign, saying that the term “nuri” is a prefix indicating “netizen” in Korean.

Some added sarcastic comments that the term was religiously inspired, taken after a leading church name, satirizing President Lee Myung-bak’s church connections.

Amid such disputes, the party held a general meeting Tuesday afternoon to exchange opinions on the new name.

However, the council continued to support the new name.

“Any new name would sound awkward at this point in time as the former name GNP has been used for over 14 years,” said Rep. Park.

“I believe that we will get used to it over time.”

Some also complained about the process of the name selection.

“The majority of the public thinks negatively of the name,” said the party’s leading reformer Rep. Chung Doo-un earlier on Twitter.

“Not only is the name disgraceful, but also reflects the authoritative atmosphere of our party, in which few may raise objections against Rep. Park.”

The name is to be officially confirmed next week once approved by the party’s national committee.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)