South Korea's ruling party to get a new name: Media

South Korea's ruling party on Friday decided to change its name to distance itself from the "Rasputin" scandal that shook the nation leading to President Park Geun-hye's impeachment, a media report said.

The conservative bloc has proposed to change its name from the Saenuri Party (New Frontier Party, in Korean) to the Free Korean Party, reported Efe news citing a local daily that quoted sources close to the party.

The decision will be formally approved on February 13, during the meeting of a national committee, the report said.

Park's party was formed in 1997 with the merger of several centre-right parties under the name of Great National Party.

Subsequently, during the 2012 presidential elections that Park won, the party changed its name to Saenuri in order to give itself a more modern image.

As Park was one of the main drivers of that name change, the decision known on Friday evidently underlines the need to distance the party from the corruption scandal involving her.

The nickname "South Korean Rasputin" was given to Choi Soon-sil, for her intimacy with the president who was forced out of office in disgrace.

Choi, 60, is accused, among other charges, of taking advantage of her friendship with Park to intervene in state affairs despite not holding public office.

She is accused of orchestrating a plot to extort companies and get them to donate large sums to several foundations that she later tried to appropriate.

The scandal sparked massive popular protests and led to Park's impeachment, which awaits ratification by the Constitutional Court.

The main opposition bloc, the Democratic Party has criticised this name change.

While the Bareun Party -- a splinter party from Saenuri after the scandal broke -- considers that the best way for the party to be redeemed would be "dissolution".

--IANS

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