South Korea's ruling Grand National Party said Thursday it will change its name next week, a move seen as an attempt to refashion itself before key elections this year.

The party will conduct public surveys for the next four days before officially adopting a new name, according to its emergency council currently headed by interim leader Park Geun-hye.

The move comes as the conservative party, proved widely unpopular among young voters in recent elections, struggles to shore up its image ahead of the parliamentary and the presidential elections this year.

The beleaguered party has been hit by a series of scandals, including allegations of a vote-buying attempt and an election-day hacking of the national election watchdog's website by aides to high-profile lawmakers.

Reform-minded lawmakers called for dissolution of the party, but the emergency leadership led by Park, a former chairwoman, has insisted the party rejuvenate itself within the established framework.

The Grand National Party was formed by the 1997 merger of the then-governing New Korea Party with the United Democratic Party.