Liberty Korea Party Explained

Successor:People Power Party
Headquarters:18, Gukhoe-daero 70-gil
Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
149-871
International:International Democrat Union
Country:South Korea
Native Name:자유한국당
自由韓國黨
Native Name Lang:ko
Slogan:Together, into the future
Membership Year:2018
Membership:Approximately 3,500,000[1] | regional = Asia Pacific Democrat Union| colours = }}
Liberty Korea Party (2017–2020)
Rr:Jayuhangukdang
Mr:Chayuhan'guktang
Othername1:Saenuri Party (2012–2017)
Hanja1:새누리
Rr1:Saenuridang
Mr1:Saenuridang
Othername2:Grand National Party (1997–2012)
Hanja2:한나라
Rr2:Hannaradang
Mr2:Hannaradang

The Liberty Korea Party was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party, and before that as the Hannara Party from 1997 to 2012, both of which are still colloquially used to refer to the party. The party formerly held a plurality of seats in the 20th Assembly before its ruling status was transferred to the Democratic Party of Korea on 27 December 2016, following the creation of the splinter Bareun Party by former Saenuri members who distanced themselves from President Park Geun-hye in the 2016 South Korean political scandal.

In February 2020, the Liberty Korea Party merged with Onward for Future 4.0 and the New Conservative Party, launching the United Future Party to contest the 2020 South Korean legislative election.

History

1997: Foundation of Grand National Party

The party was founded in 1997, when the United Democratic Party and New Korea Party merged.

Its earliest ancestor was the Democratic Republican Party[2] 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,[3] 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.[4]

1998–2007: Lost ten years

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.[5]

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.[6]

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,[7] 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.[8]

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 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,[9] 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.[10]

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.[11]

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.[12]

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.[13] [14]

2016–2019: 2016 South Korean political scandal and impeachment

The party's leader and South Korean President Park Geun-hye was impeached and convicted for her role in a corruption scandal.[15]

Dissolution

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.[16]

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.[17]

Ideology and policies

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.[18] 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"

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.[19]

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.

Human rights activism

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.[20]

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.[21] In April 2012, Saenuri member Cho Myung-Chul became the first North Korean defector elected to the National Assembly.[22] 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.[23]

Controversy

Online sockpuppetry

The party has records of secretly hiring and paying university students to generate online replies favorable to the GNP.[24] GNP member Jin Seong-ho (Korean: 진성호) formally apologized on 2 July 2009, for making a remark that "the GNP occupied Naver,"[25] 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.[26] 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.[27] The reason for forceful passing of the bill was due mainly to the budget disputes over the controversial Four Major Rivers Project.[28] Many Buddhists in South Korea criticized the budget bill for neglecting the national Temple Stay program.[29] This has led the Jogye Order, the largest Buddhist order in South Korea, to sever ties with the GNP[30] and becoming financially independent without any funding from the government.[31] 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.[32]

Views of Individual Party Members

Certain members of the Liberty Korea Party have faced criticism for expressing anti-refugee,[33] homophobic views[34] [35] and advocacy of authoritarian rules of the October Restoration.[36]

List of leaders

Chairpersons

  • Note
  • - as head of Emergency Response Committee
    • - as the de facto head of party
No.TermNameTerm of officeElection results
Took officeLeft office
11Lee Han-dong21 November 199710 April 1998Appointed
2Cho Soon10 April 19985 August 1998No election
Lee Han-dong5 August 199831 August 1998Acting
3Lee Hoi-chang31 August 199822 May 2000see 1998 election
Seo Cheong-won22 May 200030 May 2000Acting
4Lee Hoi-chang30 May 20002 April 2002see 2000 election
Park Kwan-yong2 April 200214 May 2002Acting
25Seo Cheong-won14 May 200230 January 2003see 2002 election
Park Hee-tae30 January 200326 June 2003Acting
36Choi Byeong-yul26 June 200323 March 2004see 2003 election
47Park Geun-hye23 March 20045 July 2004see March 2004 election
Kim Deok-ryong5 July 200419 July 2004Acting
8Park Geun-hye19 July 200415 June 2006see July 2004 election
Kim Yeong-seon15 June 200610 July 2006Acting
59Kang Jae-sup11 July 20064 July 2008see 2006 election
610Park Hee-tae4 July 20087 September 2009see 2008 election
711Chung Mong-joon7 September 20094 June 2010No election
Kim Moo-sung4 June 201014 July 2010Appointed
812Ahn Sang-soo14 July 20109 May 2011see 2010 election
Jeong Ui-hwa9 May 20114 July 2011Appointed
913Hong Jun-pyo4 July 20119 December 2011see 2011 election
Na Kyung-won9 December 201112 December 2011Acting
Hwang Woo-yea12 December 201119 December 2011Acting
Park Geun-hye19 December 201115 May 2012Appointed
1014Hwang Woo-yea15 May 201215 May 2014see 2012 election
Lee Wan-koo15 May 201414 July 2014Appointed
1115Kim Moo-sung14 July 201414 April 2016see 2014 election
Won Yoo-chul14 April 201611 May 2016Acting
Chung Jin-suk11 May 20162 June 2016Acting
Kim Hee-ok2 June 20169 August 2016Appointed
1216Lee Jung-hyun9 August 201616 December 2016see 2016 election
Chung Woo-taik16 December 201629 December 2016Acting
In Myung-jin29 December 20161 April 2017Appointed
Chung Woo-taik1 April 20173 July 2017Acting
1317Hong Jun-pyo3 July 201714 June 2018see 2017 election
Kim Sung-tae14 June 201817 July 2018Acting
Kim Byong-joon17 July 201827 February 2019Appointed
1418Hwang Kyo-ahn27 February 201917 February 2020see 2019 election

Assembly leaders (Floor leaders)

No.NameTerm of office
Took officeLeft office
1Mok Yo-sang21 November 199716 December 1997
2Lee Sang-deuk16 December 19975 April 1998
3Ha Soon-bong5 April 199827 August 1998
4Park Hee-tae27 August 199814 January 1999
5Lee Boo-young14 January 19991 June 2000
6Jung Chang-hwa1 June 200013 May 2001
7Lee Jae-oh13 May 200116 May 2002
8Lee Kyu-taek16 May 200229 June 2003
9Hong Sa-duk29 June 200318 May 2004
10Kim Duk-ryong18 May 20044 March 2005
11Kang Jae-sup4 March 200511 January 2006
12Lee Jae-oh11 January 200612 July 2006
13Kim Hyun-goh12 July 200626 August 2007
14Ahn Sang-soo26 August 200717 May 2008
15Hong Jun-pyo17 May 200820 May 2009
Ahn Sang-soo20 May 20093 May 2010
16Kim Moo-sung3 May 20105 May 2011
17Hwang Woo-yea5 May 20118 May 2012
18Lee Hahn-koo8 May 201214 May 2013
19Choi Kyoung-hwan15 May 20137 May 2014
20Lee Wan-koo7 May 201425 January 2015
21Yoo Seong-min1 February 20158 July 2015
22Won Yoo-chul14 July 20153 May 2016
23Chung Jin-suk3 May 201612 December 2016
24Chung Woo-taik16 December 201611 December 2017
25Kim Sung-tae11 December 201711 December 2018
26Na Kyung-won11 December 20189 December 2019
27Shim Jae-chul9 December 201917 February 2020

Election results

President

ElectionCandidateVotes%Result
1997Lee Hoi-chang9,935,71838.75
200211,443,29746.59
2007Lee Myung-bak11,492,38948.67
2012Park Geun-hye15,773,12851.56
2017Hong Jun-pyo7,841,01724.04

Legislature

ElectionLeaderConstituencyParty listSeatsPositionStatus
Votes%Seats+/-Votes%Seats+/-No.+/–
2000Lee Hoi-chang7,365,35938.96newnewnew1st
2004Park Geun-hye8,083,60937.9 127,613,66035.77 122nd
2008Kang Jae-seop7,478,77643.45 316,421,72737.48 1 321st
2012Park Geun-hye9,324,91143.28 49,130,65142.8 3 11st
2016Kim Moo-sung9,200,69038.33 227,960,27233.5 8 302nd

Local

ElectionLeaderProvincial legislatureMunicipal mayorMunicipal legislature
1998Cho Soon
2002Seo Cheong-won
2006Park Geun-hye
2010Chung Mong-joon
2014Lee Wan-koo
2018Hong Jun-pyo

Party splits

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: https://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=123&oid=156&aid=0000022676 . ko:원내대책회의 주요내용[보도자료] . Naver.
  2. Web site: http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?cid=200000000&docId=1096994&categoryId=200000228 . ko:민주공화당 . . 2012-11-14 . dead . https://archive.today/20130129214136/http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?cid=200000000&docId=1096994&categoryId=200000228 . 29 January 2013 .
  3. Encyclopedia: Roh Tae Woo. Encyclopædia Britannica. 22 November 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20141010052427/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/506868/Roh-Tae-Woo. 10 October 2014.
  4. Web site: http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?cid=2270&docId=646917&categoryId=2270 . ko:민주자유당 . 2012-11-14 . dead . https://archive.today/20130129164830/http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?cid=2270&docId=646917&categoryId=2270 . 29 January 2013 .
  5. Web site: http://news.donga.com/Society/3/03/20121025/50384029/1. ko:새누리-선진통일당, 합당 공식선언. The Dong-a Ilbo. 22 November 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20151018220113/http://news.donga.com/Society/3/03/20121025/50384029/1. 18 October 2015. 25 October 2012.
  6. Web site: http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/politics/politics_general/30706.html. ko:한나라당 5곳 '싹쓸이' ...우리당 참패. The Hankyoreh. 22 November 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20141129052139/http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/politics/politics_general/30706.html. 29 November 2014. 30 April 2005.
  7. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i-GKXzEN4bwy3Q1UuOk5uOvciXrQ
  8. Web site: ѳ 153. MoneyToday. 10 April 2008 . News.mt.co.kr. 22 November 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20151018220113/http://news.mt.co.kr/mtview.php?no=2008041001264888005&vgb=column&columnType=&code=column131. 18 October 2015.
  9. News: BBC News — Setback for South Korea's president in local elections. BBC News. 22 November 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20100606212152/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10211824.stm. 6 June 2010. 3 June 2010.
  10. News: Beom-hyeon (범현) . Kim (김) . Hwang Cheol-hwan (황철환) . ko:한나라 창당14년..탄핵후폭풍 후 최대위기 . 21 November 2011 . http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/politics/2011/11/21/0502000000AKR20111121057351001.HTML . . 25 November 2011 . ko . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150427111250/http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/politics/2011/11/21/0502000000AKR20111121057351001.HTML . 27 April 2015 .
  11. News: Beom-hyeon (범현) . Kim (김) . ko:與, '선관위 홈피공격' 악재에 대책 부심 . 3 December 2011 . http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/bulletin/2011/12/03/0200000000AKR20111203030200001.HTML . . 25 December 2011 . ko . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20111207182851/http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/bulletin/2011/12/03/0200000000AKR20111203030200001.HTML . 7 December 2011 .
  12. News: Eun-jung . Kim . Park Geun-hye takes helms of struggling ruling party . 19 December 2011 . . 5 January 2012 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120117063016/http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/12/19/47/0301000000AEN20111219011900315F.HTML . 17 January 2012 .
  13. News: Eun-jung . Kim . Ruling party considers shifting away from core conservative values . 5 January 2012 . . 5 January 2012 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140502002401/http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2012/01/05/64/0301000000AEN20120105002800315F.HTML . 2 May 2014 .
  14. News: Min-uck . Chung . Ruling party to shed 'conservatism' . 5 January 2012 . . 5 January 2012 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20141104123655/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/01/119_102300.html . 4 November 2014 .
  15. Web site: 2016-11-21 . South Korea's presidential scandal . 2023-06-23 . . en-GB.
  16. Web site: [News analysis] New conservative party or throwback to the Saenuri Party?]. The Hankyoreh.
  17. News: Ji-hye . Jun . Which colour will shine? . 17 December 2012 . . 17 December 2012 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150427142941/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2015/03/608_127078.html . 27 April 2015.
  18. Web site: 국민의힘 . 2023-01-27 . 국민의힘.
  19. Web site: (종합). https://web.archive.org/web/20110927044239/http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/bulletin/2010/12/08/0200000000AKR20101208232700001.HTML. dead. 8 December 2010. 27 September 2011. Yonhap News Agency.
  20. Web site: Politics. Rki.kbs.co.kr. 22 November 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140202143024/http://rki.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Po_detail.htm?No=90838&id=Po. 2 February 2014.
  21. Web site: Ha Tae Kyung to Stand in Busan- Daily NK. 2 March 2012 . Daily NK. 22 November 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923212606/http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=8910. 23 September 2015.
  22. Web site: North Korean defector stands for South Korean election . https://archive.today/20130119201042/http://articles.cnn.com/2012-04-10/asia/world_asia_north-korea-defector_1_cho-north-korea-defectors . dead . 19 January 2013 . Paula Hancocks, CNN . 11 April 2012 . CNN . 22 November 2014 .
  23. http://blog.linkglobal.org/2012/03/07/nk-news-brief-march-7-2012/
  24. Web site:

    ü 巯 ѳ ˹

    . 4 April 2008. Media Today. ko. 22 November 2014.
  25. Web site: http://www.pressian.com/article/article.asp?article_num=60090702113913&section=03 . ko:진성호 의원 '네이버 평정 발언' 공개 사과. Pressian. 22 November 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20120320032142/http://www.pressian.com/article/article.asp?article_num=60090702113913&section=03. 20 March 2012. 2 July 2009.
  26. Web site: http://www.cbs.co.kr/nocut/Show.asp?IDX=1656739 . ko:한나라당 새해 예산안 단독처리...野 날치기 강력 항의 - 노컷뉴스. Cbs.co.kr. 22 November 2014. 8 December 2010.
  27. News: <'난장판 국회' 재연에 각계 분노·비난 폭발>. https://web.archive.org/web/20110927044216/http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/bulletin/2010/12/08/0200000000AKR20101208187700004.HTML. 27 September 2011. . ko. 8 December 2010. 7 September 2020.
  28. Web site: "ȥ " ó. MoneyToday. 8 December 2010 . Mt.co.kr. 22 November 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20141129081933/http://www.mt.co.kr/view/mtview.php?type=1&no=2010120818184912788&outlink=1. 29 November 2014.
  29. Web site: ѱ̴! . News.hankooki.com . 22 November 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120305202139/http://news.hankooki.com/lpage/culture/201012/h2010120916334184330.htm . 5 March 2012 .
  30. Web site: ο ̻ ȭ ʿ١. 13 December 2010. Kyunghyang Shinmun. 22 November 2014.
  31. Web site: 조계종 "템플스테이 예산 요구않고 자립"(종합). https://web.archive.org/web/20120402001413/http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/bulletin/2010/12/17/0200000000AKR20101217209300005.HTML. dead. 17 December 2010. 2 April 2012. Yonhap News Agency.
  32. Web site: http://www.nocutnews.co.kr/show.asp?idx=1665211 . ko:'이럴려고 몸싸움했나'...국회 보좌진 인턴 수당도 날아가 - 노컷뉴스. No Cut News. 22 November 2014. 18 December 2010.
  33. Web site: Kimn Jin-tae "People who applied refugee status should be ousted by force.". 11 July 2018. News1.
  34. Web site: LKP's Homophobia(In Korean). 24 May 2019. Hankook Ilbo.
  35. Web site: Min Kyeon-wook, member of LKP's'coming out' comment raises dispute about Homophobia.. 20 May 2019. YTN.
  36. Web site: Na Kyung-won's comment about good dictatorship and bad dictatorship.. 3 May 2019. JTBC.