Former Ambassador Morse H. Tan answers questions from young people after his lecture at the '2030 Youth Talk Concert' held at the Freedom and Innovation headquarters on the 27th. [Freedom and Innovation] Morse H. Tan (Korean name: Dan Hyun-myung), former U.S. Ambassador for Global Criminal Justice, emphasized that "America's greatness and goodness are rooted in evangelicalism," signaling "Christian values" as a key criterion for which South Korean political parties the U.S. might align with during future periods of upheaval on the Korean Peninsula.

Former Ambassador Tan attended the '2030 Youth Talk Concert' held at the Freedom and Innovation central headquarters on the 27th. During the Q&A session, a young attendee asked, "Looking at the cases of the UK and Germany, which overcame the threats of communist forces and rebuilt themselves, the U.S. chose new alternative parties as partners rather than those with existing large seat counts or capital power," and questioned, "In the process of South Korea’s future reconstruction, will a party with clear Christian evangelical values, conservative ideology, and a robust South Korea-U.S. alliance become America's partner?" 

In response, while avoiding naming any specific party, former Ambassador Tan stressed that the United States is the first nation founded on Protestant evangelicalism, implicitly suggesting that Christian values will serve as an important benchmark for bilateral solidarity. With the People Power Party’s “internal reform” theory—focused on a “re-election” following the protests at Olympic Park—clashing sharply with the Freedom and Innovation Party’s “new party alternative” theory—which emphasizes “truth-finding and punishment regarding election fraud”—his remarks are expected to garner significant attention both within the conservative camp and across the political spectrum.

This is because while some continue to argue for change from within the People Power Party, public opinion is gaining traction that South Korea should learn from the examples of the UK and Germany, where traditional conservative parties that focused on “internal reform” collapsed, while new conservative parties were chosen by the people. 

An attendee asks a question about the U.S.'s criteria for selecting South Korean political partners at the '2030 Youth Talk Concert' featuring former Ambassador Morse H. Tan on the 27th. [Freedom and Innovation]

"Valuing even a single life"... Morse H. Tan on America's greatness and 'good evangelicalism'

Former Ambassador Tan stated, "The most essential reason for America's greatness is that America possesses 'goodness'," and dedicated a significant portion of his answer to explaining the values gap between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

"The CCP places almost no value on human life and dignity, but the U.S. is different," he said. "Just as the government and military mobilized all available assets to rescue a single U.S. pilot shot down during the Iran war, America cherishes every single life." 

He continued by citing the movie 'Saving Private Ryan,' adding, "It is the essence of America to mobilize all resources of heaven and earth to save a single private, not a general or a colonel," and added, "The evangelical Christian spirit of honoring humans created in the image of God, much like God searching for one lost sheep, is the root of America."

In particular, reflecting on the Korean War, he emphasized, "At the time, there was no mutual defense treaty, and South Korea was not a protected target under the official U.S. policy, the Acheson Line," adding, "Even without legal or policy justification, Americans were willing to shed blood to save a distant country they knew nothing about. This is the very reality of American goodness and evangelical values."

Former Ambassador Morse H. Tan gives a lecture at the '2030 Youth Talk Concert' held at the Freedom and Innovation central headquarters on the 27th. [GROK Studio]The trap of 'internal innovation'... The path of collapse taken by traditional conservative parties in the UK, Germany, and elsewhere

Coinciding with former Ambassador Tan’s remarks, a recent hot topic in right-wing communities has been foreign examples of leadership changes where the argument to "change from within the existing conservative party" proved to be toxic. 

According to the history of global party transitions analyzed by the YouTube channel 'Conservative Construction (Bosugongsa),' traditional conservative parties that refused reform and settled for the status quo met their downfall without exception. 

The fall of the UK Conservative Party and the sensational rise of Reform UK are frequently cited as meaningful cases. 

Trapped in the logic of "changing from within," the UK Conservative Party stagnated for 30 years and suffered a crushing defeat in the general election, with its parliamentary seats plummeting from 365 to 121. 

On the other hand, 'Reform UK,' which emerged by fiercely lashing out at the leftward drift of the existing Conservative Party, absorbed 30% of the conservative vote and is gaining momentum. In this year's May local elections, Reform UK achieved the remarkable feat of increasing its seats by more than 20 times, from 71 to 1,453.

The UK Conservative Party, often compared to the People Power Party, saw its seat count drop by two-thirds and lost its leading position in local councils after staying stagnant for 30 years while claiming to reform from within. 

The leftward drift of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Germany and the rise of 'Alternative for Germany (AfD)' also offer significant lessons. 

After internal conflicts over Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU leaning too far to the left, the party failed to prevent the emergence of a new conservative party, the AfD. Within just one year of its founding, the AfD's approval rating soared to 25–27%, threatening the traditional CDU, and in some regions, it is leading with an approval rating of 40%. 

The UK Conservative Party, which insisted on "changing from within," set out on a path of ruin after 30 years. [YouTube Conservative Construction capture]

"Defeat was not due to division, but due to a failure to change"... Generational change of conservatives in history

The YouTube analysis warns of the catastrophic results of "unconditional unity" through historical cases in France, Canada, Italy, and the U.S.

In France, the insistence on not splitting until the very end proved toxic. In the Republican Party, which had produced two conservative presidents, the delay of reforms under the pretense that "division leads to defeat" and "we must gather under one flag" led to disaster. In the 2022 presidential election, the Republican candidate received less than 5% of the vote, making the party ineligible for public election funding reimbursement, leaving the individual candidate with a debt of 5.1 million euros (approx. 8 billion KRW) and the party with 7 million euros (approx. 11 billion KRW) in debt. 

In Canada, the conservative party held 169 seats in the 1988 general election, but the Reform Party split off in protest against the argument to "change from within." In the election held five years later, the original conservative party was relegated to the back pages of history, receiving a dismal total of just 2 seats. 

In Italy, when internal reform failed, Giorgia Meloni founded a new party, and within four years, boosted her approval rating from 4.4% (2018) to 26% (2022), becoming the first female prime minister, while her party became Italy's number one political force. 

In the U.S., during the mid-19th century, conflict persisted within the existing Whig Party over the issue of slavery. Northern Whig factions who campaigned for clear abolitionism left the party and founded the 'Republican Party.' This new Republican Party produced President Abraham Lincoln just six years after its founding, and the original Whig Party vanished. Even 172 years later, the Republican Party remains the staple of American conservatism. 

The operator of the 'Conservative Construction' YouTube channel noted, "Historically, there is no case of a conservative movement winning by avoiding division; rather, the side that adhered to its principles and bravely split became the new legitimate successor." Ultimately, one can easily find the stern historical lesson in these foreign cases that conservatism must not be loyal to the facade of people or parties, but rather to values and principles, and that without painful change, there is only co-destruction or self-destruction. 

☞YouTube Channel 'Conservative Construction' Video