Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| Members of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea pose during a ceremony to launch the party's election strategy committee at the National Assembly, Feb. 20. / Korea Times file |
Political parties committed to finding own colors to represent identity
By Kang Seung-woo
Whenever election time comes around, there is one thing that each political party cares about as much as about candidate selection ― its party color. As party colors are used to represent their political identity and ideology, they are devoted to picking one that is "perfectly" suited to them.
Ahead of the April 15 general election, other than the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), a large number of parties ― most of which have merged and renamed ― have changed their color in a bid to appeal to more voters and gain extra seats at the National Assembly. Some parties have even exchanged words over similar colors.
The DPK is sticking to the blue that it used in the 20th National Assembly election four years ago.
The main opposition United Future Party (UFP) ― formerly the Liberty Korea Party ― ditched the red that it had been using since 2012 and selected pink as its new color, calling it "happy pink."
 |
| Leaders of the United Future Party (UFP) hold a launch ceremony at the National Assembly, Feb. 17. / Korea Times file |
According to the UFP, the color change was intended to help the party shake off its hardline conservative image and expand its support base to centrist and younger voters. In fact, the Yeouido Institute, the party's think tank, has also used pink to appeal to younger voters, and the UFP even considered calling it "millennial pink."
When the UFP was launched in February, the party explained that the color change meant it was seeking happiness for the people.
Ahn Cheol-soo, a former presidential candidate, once again created a new party ahead of the general election, named the People's Party.
Even though his party used green four years ago, this time the doctor-turned-politician picked orange for the new entity. According to him, orange means warmth, happiness and affirmation.
However, his party color faced protest from the Minjung Party that had used already been using the color orange, or "juhwang" in Korean.
"The image we created has been stolen overnight by a high-profile politician. It is not different from 'gapjil' by large companies against smaller players," a Minjung Party official said. Gapjil refers to the abuse of power by someone in a superior position against a person or third-party in a weaker position.
In response, the People's Party said its color is "vivid orange," different from Minjung party's "juhwang," and Ahn said he had never heard about colors being owned by political parties.
 |
| Ahn Cheol-soo, center, chairman of the People's Party, poses with party members in Daejeon, Feb. 16. / Korea Times file |
The Justice Party will continue to use yellow for the election ― the color symbolizes the welfare state, according to the party.
The Our Republican Party, made up of politicians loyal to former presidents Park Chung-hee and his daughter Park Geun-hye, is using green based on the color of the Saemaeul Movement, a rural development campaign that was launched in 1970 under Park Chung-hee.
In domestic political circles, the conservatives used the blue color for more than 30 years dating back to 1981 when the Democratic Justice Party used it, but in 2012, then main opposition conservative party leader Park Geun-hye changed the color to red ― a color formerly considered taboo among conservatives because it represented communism ― in a bid to cast aside an outdated image.
In 2013, the Liberal Democratic Party adopted blue for the first time in its 60-year history.
"Party colors are used as a tool to effectively show party identity. In that respect, when parties face a political crisis or turmoil, they first seek to change their color as well as name and logo," a political observer said.
