Liberty Korea Party
Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Distinguish Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox political party Template:Infobox Korean name The Liberty Korea Party (Template:Korean) was a conservative<ref name="Manyin"/><ref name="Shin"/><ref name="Peterson"/> political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing,<ref name="upi.com2"/><ref name="foreignbrief.com2"/> right-wing populist,<ref name="Jang Hoon"/> or far-right.<ref name="far-right"/>
The Grand National Party party was founded in 1997, when the United Democratic Party and New Korea Party merged. In 1997, GNP presidential candidate Lee Hoi-chang lost to National Congress for New Politics candidate Kim Dae-jung, marking the first time in Korea the ruling party peacefully transferred power to the opposition party. In 2004, the party lost its leading status in the National Assembly. In 2007, GNP candidate Lee Myung-bak was elected the president, returning the party into power. In 2008, it recaptured its majority in the National Assembly.
In 2012, it was renamed to the Saenuri Party. That year, its candidate Park Geun-hye won in the presidential election, while the party retained its majority in the National Assembly. In 2016, Park was impached by the National Assembly due to the 2016 South Korean political scandal, while some party members split and created the Bareun Party, leading the party to lose its plurality in the National Assembly. In 2017, the party was renamed to the Liberty Korea Party. In February 2020, the Liberty Korea Party was suceeded by the United Future Party when it merged with Onward for Future 4.0 and the New Conservative Party to contest the 2020 South Korean legislative election.
The party was generally seen as right-wing, conservative and economically liberal. It espoused socially conservative views. It favored strengthening South Korea's alliance with the United States, as well as improving relations with Japan. The party also took a hawkish stance towards North Korea.
History
1997: Foundation of Grand National Party
The Grand National Party (GNP), also known as the Hannara Party (Template:Korean), was founded in 1997, when the United Democratic Party and New Korea Party merged. The party's earliest ancestor was the Democratic Republican Party<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> under the authoritarian rule of Park Chung Hee in 1963. On Park's death, and at the beginning of the rule of Chun Doo-hwan in 1980, it was reconstituted and renamed as the Democratic Justice Party. In 1988, party member Roh Tae-woo introduced a wide range of political reforms including direct presidential elections and a new constitution.
The party was renamed in 1993, during the presidency of Kim Young-sam,<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> with the merger of other parties to form the Democratic Liberal Party (Minju Jayudang). It was renamed as the New Korea Party (Sinhangukdang) in 1995, and it then became the Grand National Party in November 1997 following its merger with the smaller United Democratic Party and various conservative parties.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1998–2007: Lost ten years
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Three months later, in 1998, with the election of Kim Dae-jung of the National Congress for New Politics as president, the conservative party's governing role came to an end, and it began its first ever period in opposition, which would last ten years. In October 2012, the Advancement Unification Party merged with the Saenuri Party.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Following the 2000 parliamentary elections, it was the single largest political party, with 54% of the vote and 133 seats out of 271. The party continued to control the National Assembly.
The party was defeated in the parliamentary election in 2004 following the attempted impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun, gaining only 121 seats out of 299. The party's defeat reflected public disapproval of the attempted impeachment, which was instigated by the party. This was the first time in its history the party had not won the most seats. It gained back five seats in by-elections, bringing it to 127 seats as of 28 October 2005.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2008–2012: Recovering position of the ruling party and Lee Myung-bak government
On 19 December 2007, the GNP's candidate, former Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak won the presidential election,<ref>[1] Template:Webarchive</ref> ending the party's ten-year period in opposition.
In the April 2008 general election, the GNP secured a majority of 153 seats out of 299 and gained power in the administration and the parliament as well as most local governments, despite low voter turnout.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
One of the main bases of popular support of the party originates from the conservative, traditionalist elite and the rural population, except for farmers. It is strongest in the Gyeongsang Province region. Former party head, and 2007 presidential candidate, Park Geun-hye is the daughter of former President Park Chung Hee who ruled from 1961 to 1979. Although Representative Won Hee-ryeong and Hong Jun-pyo ran for the party primary as reformist candidates, former Seoul mayor and official presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak gained more support (about 40%) from the Korean public.
The GNP suffered a setback in the 2010 local elections, losing a total of 775 local seats throughout the counties,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but remained with the most seats in the region.
GNP-affiliated politician, Oh Se-hoon, lost his mayoral position in Seoul after the Seoul Free Lunch Referendum.
The Grand National Party celebrated its 14th anniversary on 21 November 2011, amid uncertainties from intra-party crises.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The DDoS attacks during the October 2011 by-election have become a central concern of the GNP as it could potentially disintegrate the party leadership.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2012–2016: Renaming to Saenuri Party and Park Geun-hye government
Emergency Response Commission
The Hong Jun-pyo leadership system collapsed on 9 December 2011, and the GNP Emergency Response Commission was launched on 17 December 2011, with Park Geun-hye as commission chairperson, to prepare for the forthcoming Legislative Election 2012 on 11 April 2012, and the Presidential Election 2012 on 19 December 2012.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> There was a debate with Commission members about whether to transform the Grand National Party into a non-conservative political party or not, but Park said the GNP would never become non-conservative and will follow the real values of conservatism.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2012, the party was renamed to the Saenuri Party (Template:Korean).
2016–2019: 2016 South Korean political scandal and impeachment
Template:See also The party's leader and South Korean President Park Geun-hye was impeached and convicted for her role in a corruption scandal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Succcession by the United Future Party
The Liberty Korea Party merged with Onward for Future 4.0 and the New Conservative Party on 17 February, launching the United Future Party in time for the upcoming 2020 South Korean legislative election.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Official color
In February 2012, the party changed its political official color from blue to red. This was a change from the previous 30 years where blue was usually the symbol of the conservative parties.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Ideology and policies
Template:Conservatism in South Korea The party supports free trade and neoliberal economic policies. It favors maintaining strong cooperation with the United States and Japan, and also believes that each Korean first level province needs to have a sustainable economy.<ref name="국민의힘">Template:Cite web</ref> The party is also conservative on social issues such as opposition to legal recognition of same-sex couples. The party supports equality between man and woman, as quoted, "and ensure that both men and women are equally guaranteed opportunities".<ref name="국민의힘"/>
Four major rivers project
One of the party's important policies is to financially secure The Four Major Rivers Project since President Lee Myung-bak was in office. This project's budget disputes have sparked controversial political motions in the National Assembly for three consecutive years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Sejong City project
The party has been less inclined toward the creation of a new capital city for South Korea, to be called Sejong City than the previous administration. As of 2012, the Saenuri Party has indicated that some governmental offices will be relocated to the new city, but not all.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
North Korea
The party has been very active in promoting the North Korean Human Rights Law, which would officially condemn the use of torture, public executions and other human rights violations in North Korea.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Party representative Ha Tae Kyung is the founder of Open Radio for North Korea, an NGO dedicated to spreading news and information about democracy, to which citizens of North Korea have little access due to their government's isolationist policies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In April 2012, Saenuri member Cho Myung-Chul became the first North Korean defector elected to the National Assembly.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In spring 2012, several Saenuri representatives took part in the Save My Friend protests, organized to oppose China's policy of repatriating North Korean defectors, and expressed their solidarity with Park Sun-young's hunger strike.<ref>[2] Template:Dead link</ref>
Controversy
Online sockpuppetry
The party has records of secretly hiring and paying university students to generate online replies favorable to the GNP.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> GNP member Jin Seong-ho (Template:Lang) formally apologized on 2 July 2009, for making a remark that "the GNP occupied Naver,"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> one of the biggest South Korean internet portals.
8 December 2010, controversial bill-passing
The party passed a bill relating to the year 2011 national budget without the opposition parties' input on 8 December 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It had caused legislative violence before. This process of passing the budget bill sparked controversy over potential illegality. Due to this incident, many South Korean political, academic and citizen groups expressed their outrage against current mainstream politics.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The reason for forceful passing of the bill was due mainly to the budget disputes over the controversial Four Major Rivers Project.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Many Buddhists in South Korea criticized the budget bill for neglecting the national Temple Stay program.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This has led the Jogye Order, the largest Buddhist order in South Korea, to sever ties with the GNP<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and becoming financially independent without any funding from the government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The interns and the staff working in the National Assembly officially complained on 17 December that their salary was unpaid after the passing of this bill.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Views of Individual Party Members
Certain members of the Liberty Korea Party have faced criticism for expressing anti-refugee,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> homophobic views<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and advocacy of authoritarian rules of the October Restoration.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
List of leaders
Chairpersons
- Note
- Template:Sup - as head of Emergency Response Committee
- * - as the de facto head of party
| No. | Term | Name | Term of office | Election results | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | ||||
| 1 | 1 | Lee Han-dong | 21 November 1997 | 10 April 1998 | Appointed |
| * | 2 | Cho Soon* | 10 April 1998 | 5 August 1998 | No election |
| — | — | Lee Han-dong | 5 August 1998 | 31 August 1998 | Acting |
| * | 3 | Lee Hoi-chang* | 31 August 1998 | 22 May 2000 | see 1998 election |
| — | — | Seo Cheong-won | 22 May 2000 | 30 May 2000 | Acting |
| * | 4 | Lee Hoi-chang* | 30 May 2000 | 2 April 2002 | see 2000 election |
| — | — | Park Kwan-yong | 2 April 2002 | 14 May 2002 | Acting |
| 2 | 5 | Seo Cheong-won | 14 May 2002 | 30 January 2003 | see 2002 election |
| — | — | Park Hee-tae | 30 January 2003 | 26 June 2003 | Acting |
| 3 | 6 | Choi Byeong-yul | 26 June 2003 | 23 March 2004 | see 2003 election |
| 4 | 7 | Park Geun-hye | 23 March 2004 | 5 July 2004 | see March 2004 election |
| — | — | Kim Deok-ryong | 5 July 2004 | 19 July 2004 | Acting |
| Template:Small | 8 | Park Geun-hye | 19 July 2004 | 15 June 2006 | see July 2004 election |
| — | — | Kim Yeong-seon | 15 June 2006 | 10 July 2006 | Acting |
| 5 | 9 | Kang Jae-sup | 11 July 2006 | 4 July 2008 | see 2006 election |
| 6 | 10 | Park Hee-tae | 4 July 2008 | 7 September 2009 | see 2008 election |
| 7 | 11 | Chung Mong-joon | 7 September 2009 | 4 June 2010 | No election |
| — | — | Kim Moo-sungTemplate:Sup | 4 June 2010 | 14 July 2010 | Appointed |
| 8 | 12 | Ahn Sang-soo | 14 July 2010 | 9 May 2011 | see 2010 election |
| — | — | Jeong Ui-hwaTemplate:Sup | 9 May 2011 | 4 July 2011 | Appointed |
| 9 | 13 | Hong Jun-pyo | 4 July 2011 | 9 December 2011 | see 2011 election |
| — | — | Na Kyung-won | 9 December 2011 | 12 December 2011 | Acting |
| — | — | Hwang Woo-yea | 12 December 2011 | 19 December 2011 | Acting |
| — | — | Park Geun-hyeTemplate:Sup | 19 December 2011 | 15 May 2012 | Appointed |
| 10 | 14 | Hwang Woo-yea | 15 May 2012 | 15 May 2014 | see 2012 election |
| — | — | Lee Wan-kooTemplate:Sup | 15 May 2014 | 14 July 2014 | Appointed |
| 11 | 15 | Kim Moo-sung | 14 July 2014 | 14 April 2016 | see 2014 election |
| — | — | Won Yoo-chul | 14 April 2016 | 11 May 2016 | Acting |
| — | — | Chung Jin-suk | 11 May 2016 | 2 June 2016 | Acting |
| — | — | Kim Hee-okTemplate:Sup | 2 June 2016 | 9 August 2016 | Appointed |
| 12 | 16 | Lee Jung-hyun | 9 August 2016 | 16 December 2016 | see 2016 election |
| — | — | Chung Woo-taik | 16 December 2016 | 29 December 2016 | Acting |
| — | — | In Myung-jinTemplate:Sup | 29 December 2016 | 1 April 2017 | Appointed |
| — | — | Chung Woo-taik | 1 April 2017 | 3 July 2017 | Acting |
| 13 | 17 | Hong Jun-pyo | 3 July 2017 | 14 June 2018 | see 2017 election |
| — | — | Kim Sung-tae | 14 June 2018 | 17 July 2018 | Acting |
| — | — | Kim Byong-joonTemplate:Sup | 17 July 2018 | 27 February 2019 | Appointed |
| 14 | 18 | Hwang Kyo-ahn | 27 February 2019 | 17 February 2020 | see 2019 election |
Assembly leaders (Floor leaders)
| No. | Name | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | ||
| 1 | Mok Yo-sang | 21 November 1997 | 16 December 1997 |
| 2 | Lee Sang-deuk | 16 December 1997 | 5 April 1998 |
| 3 | Ha Soon-bong | 5 April 1998 | 27 August 1998 |
| 4 | Park Hee-tae | 27 August 1998 | 14 January 1999 |
| 5 | Lee Boo-young | 14 January 1999 | 1 June 2000 |
| 6 | Jung Chang-hwa | 1 June 2000 | 13 May 2001 |
| 7 | Lee Jae-oh | 13 May 2001 | 16 May 2002 |
| 8 | Lee Kyu-taek | 16 May 2002 | 29 June 2003 |
| 9 | Hong Sa-duk | 29 June 2003 | 18 May 2004 |
| 10 | Kim Duk-ryong | 18 May 2004 | 4 March 2005 |
| 11 | Kang Jae-sup | 4 March 2005 | 11 January 2006 |
| 12 | Lee Jae-oh | 11 January 2006 | 12 July 2006 |
| 13 | Kim Hyun-goh | 12 July 2006 | 26 August 2007 |
| 14 | Ahn Sang-soo | 26 August 2007 | 17 May 2008 |
| 15 | Hong Jun-pyo | 17 May 2008 | 20 May 2009 |
| Template:Small | Ahn Sang-soo | 20 May 2009 | 3 May 2010 |
| 16 | Kim Moo-sung | 3 May 2010 | 5 May 2011 |
| 17 | Hwang Woo-yea | 5 May 2011 | 8 May 2012 |
| 18 | Lee Hahn-koo | 8 May 2012 | 14 May 2013 |
| 19 | Choi Kyoung-hwan | 15 May 2013 | 7 May 2014 |
| 20 | Lee Wan-koo | 7 May 2014 | 25 January 2015 |
| 21 | Yoo Seong-min | 1 February 2015 | 8 July 2015 |
| 22 | Won Yoo-chul | 14 July 2015 | 3 May 2016 |
| 23 | Chung Jin-suk | 3 May 2016 | 12 December 2016 |
| 24 | Chung Woo-taik | 16 December 2016 | 11 December 2017 |
| 25 | Kim Sung-tae | 11 December 2017 | 11 December 2018 |
| 26 | Na Kyung-won | 11 December 2018 | 9 December 2019 |
| 27 | Shim Jae-chul | 9 December 2019 | 17 February 2020 |
Election results
President
| Election | Candidate | Votes | % | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Lee Hoi-chang | 9,935,718 | 38.75 | rowspan=2 Template:No |
| 2002 | 11,443,297 | 46.59 | ||
| 2007 | Lee Myung-bak | 11,492,389 | 48.67 | rowspan=2 Template:Yes |
| 2012 | Park Geun-hye | 15,773,128 | 51.56 | |
| 2017 | Hong Joon-pyo | 7,841,017 | 24.04 | Template:No |
Legislature
Local
Party splits
- Saenuri Party (2017) (2017-since)
- Korean Patriots' Party (2017-since)
See also
- Impeachment of Park Geun-hye
- 2016 South Korean legislative election
- 2017 South Korean presidential election
- 2018 South Korean local elections
- 2019 South Korean Capitol attack
Notes
References
External links
Template:Liberty Korea Party Template:South Korean political parties
- Liberty Korea Party
- Right-wing populism in South Korea
- Anti-communism in South Korea
- National conservative parties
- Socially conservative parties
- Conservative parties in South Korea
- Right-wing populist parties
- Far-right political parties in South Korea
- Anti-communist parties
- Discrimination against LGBTQ people in South Korea
- Right-wing parties
- Right-wing politics in South Korea
- 1997 establishments in South Korea
- International Democracy Union member parties
- Political parties established in 1997
- 2020 disestablishments in South Korea
- Political parties disestablished in 2020
- Defunct nationalist parties