The country’s conservative bloc is shaking off its presidential election defeat and gearing up for party conventions where new leaders will be selected.

The minor conservative opposition Bareun Party is set to elect new leadership on June 26. A number of former and incumbent lawmakers have already announced their bids, each claiming that they will carry on the flame of “new conservatives.” The party split off from the defunct Saenuri Party in the wake of the scandal that led to the arrest of former President Park Geun-hye. Its founders claimed that the new party represented new hope for the conservatives.


Those who have announced or are expected to make a bid for leadership positions include Reps. Ha Tae-keung, Kim Young-woo, Lee Hye-hoon, Jeong Woon-chun, and former lawmaker Chung Mi-kyung. Reps. Kim Moo-sung and Yoo Seong-min, who were the driving force in the party’s foundation, have stated that they would not run.

In announcing his bid Sunday, Kim Young-woo highlighted the need for unity within the party and the Bareun Party’s self-appointed role of reformer of the conservatives.

“(I) will fan the flame of new conservativism Yoo Seong-min revived during the presidential election,” Kim said.

Although Yoo has made it clear that he will not seek a leadership position, he continues to call for a conservative bloc reform.

“(I am) going crazy wanting to change the falling conservatives. If (the conservatives) give up on change, then Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye style conservativism will continue,” Rep. Yoo, a former Bareun Party leader and presidential candidate, said at his publishing event Saturday.

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party, which is set to elect new leaders on July 3, appears to be gripped by new factionalism. While the Saenuri Party was divided into pro- and non-Park Geun-hye factions, the Liberty Korea Party appears divided into those who will accept Hong Joon-pyo as the party’s new leader and those who will reject him.

Hong, a former South Gyeongsang Province governor and presidential candidate, returned from the US on June 4 and is set to resume activities in the coming weeks.

While Hong is considered by many as the most likely party leader, a number of heavyweights are also vying for the position.

Five-term lawmaker Rep. Won Yoo-chul has hinted at his ambitions, saying he was “ready for revolution” on social media.

Rep. Hong Moon-jong, a four-term lawmaker considered likely to run for the party’s chairmanship, has been distancing himself from Hong Joon-pyo, criticizing him for fanning factionalism.

In a recent radio interview, Hong Moon-jong said that the former presidential candidate was “dividing the party” and that if Hong Joon-pyo is elected to leadership, it would be “a very unhappy development for the party and Korea as a whole.”

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)