SEOUL, Lee Jun-seok, a former leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), was elected as the inaugural chairman of a new party with reform pledges ahead of the April parliamentary elections. The party, translated as The Reform Party, was officially launched 24 days after Lee left the PPP due to long-running feuds with President Yoon Suk Yeol and his loyalists in the conservative party. The 38-year-old Harvard graduate, who has avid followers among young male voters, said he will push for a series of reform measures by winning seats in the upcoming elections. "The real game for reform is now beginning," Lee said during the party's launching ceremony held at the National Assembly." "I will shout for reform until the end during the upcoming parliamentary elections. I will lead the election to victory," he added. Lee, who wore an orange jumper, the color of his party, said he is open to uniting other minor parties for the election, fueling speculations of a "big tent" created by those who are not affilia ted with either of the two major rival parties. Lee said his party will push for reform measures in controversial areas, including replacing the free subway rides for seniors with transportation vouchers and a fare discount system, and a revision of the male-only conscription system. Lee, who served as PPP leader from June 2021 to August 2023, was ousted from the post last year as his party membership was suspended over allegations of sexual bribery in 2013. Source: Yonhap News Agency