BY EVAN RAMSTAD

SEOUL—South Korea's ruling political party changed its name Thursday in the latest effort to reshape its scandal-marred image ahead of elections later this year.

The conservative party, known for the past 15 years as the Grand National Party, renamed itself as the New World Party after leaders hired an advertising consultant to sift through more than 9,000 name suggestions sent in by party members and the public.

The party as well as the leading opposition party, which was recently renamed the Democratic Unity Party, earlier this week made high-profile appointments of political outsiders to lead committees ...