Liberty Korea Party

The Liberty Korea Party (Korean: 자유한국당; Hanja: 自由韓國黨; RR: Jayuhangukdang) was a conservative[2][3][4] political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing,[14][15] right-wing populist,[9] or far-right.[17] Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (Korean: 새누리당), and before that as the Hannara Party (Korean: 한나라당; lit. Grand Nation 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 December 27, 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.

"Hannara" redirects here. For the political party briefly using this name in 2012, see Hannara Party (2012). For the genus of moths, see Hannara (moth).
Not to be confused with Saenuri Party (2017), which uses the former name (2012–2017) of Liberty Korea Party.

Liberty Korea Party

자유한국당
Jayuhangukdang
LeaderHwang Kyo-ahn
Floor leaderShim Jae-chul
Secretary GeneralPark Maeng-wu
Chairman of the Policy Planning CommitteeKim Jae-won
Founded21 November 1997
(Grand National Party)
2 February 2012
(Saenuri Party)
13 February 2017
(Liberty Korea Party)
Dissolved17 February 2020
Merger ofUnited Liberal Democrats
Future Hope Alliance
Advancement Unification Party
Evergreen Korea Party
Preceded byNew Korea Party
United Democratic Party
Merged intoUnited Future Party
Headquarters18, Gukhoe-daero 70-gil
Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
149-871
Membership (2018)Approximately 3,500,000[1]
IdeologyConservatism[2][3][4]
Anti-communism[5][6]
Social conservatism[7]
National conservatism[8]
Right-wing populism[9][10][11]
Factions:
 • Neoconservatism[12]
 • Paleoconservatism[13]
Political positionRight-wing[14][15] to far-right[16][17]
Historical:
Centre-right[18][19] to right-wing[20]
Regional affiliationAsia Pacific Democrat Union
International affiliationInternational Democrat Union
ColoursRed
SloganTogether, into the future
Website
www.libertykoreaparty.kr
Liberty Korea Party
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationJayuhangukdang
McCune–ReischauerChayuhan'guktang
Korea Party
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationHangukdang
McCune–ReischauerHan'guktang
Headquarters of the Liberty Korea Party

History

1997: Foundation of Hannara 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[21] 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,[22] 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.[23]

1998–2007: Lost ten years

Three months later, in 1998, with the election of Kim Dae-jung of the Democratic Party 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.[24]

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 October 28, 2005.[25]

2008–2012: Recovering position of the ruling party and Lee Myung-bak government

On December 19, 2007, the GNP's candidate, former Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak won the presidential election,[26] 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.[27]

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,[28] 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 November 21, 2011, amid uncertainties from intra-party crises.[29]

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.[30]

2012–2016: Renaming to Saenuri party and Park Geun-hye government

Emergency Response Commission

The Hong Jun-pyo leadership system collapsed on December 9, 2011, and the GNP Emergency Response Commission was launched on December 17, 2011, with Park Geun-hye as commission chairperson, to prepare for the forthcoming Legislative Election 2012 on April 11, 2012, and the Presidential Election 2012 on December 19, 2012.[31]

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.[32][33]

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.

Dissolution

The Liberty Korea Party merged with Onward for Future 4.0 and the New Conservative Party on February 17, launching the United Future Party in time for the upcoming 2020 South Korean legislative election.[34]

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.[35]

Policy

The party supports free trade and neoliberal economic policies. It favors maintaining strong cooperation with the United States and Japan while distancing South Korea from North Korea. The party is also conservative on social issues such as opposition to legal recognition of same-sex couples.

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.[36]

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.[37]

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.[38] In April 2012, Saenuri member Cho Myung-Chul became the first North Korean defector elected to the National Assembly.[39] 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.[40]

Controversy

Online sockpuppetry

The party has records of secretly hiring and paying university students to generate online replies favorable to the GNP.[41] GNP member Jin Seong-ho (진성호) formally apologized on July 2, 2009, for making a remark that "the GNP occupied Naver,"[42] one of the biggest South Korean internet portals.

December 8, 2010, controversial bill-passing

The party passed a bill relating to the year 2011 national budget without the opposition parties' input on December 8, 2010.[43] 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.[44] The reason for forceful passing of the bill was due mainly to the budget disputes over the controversial Four Major Rivers Project.[45] Many Buddhists in South Korea criticized the budget bill for neglecting the national Temple Stay program.[46] This has led the Jogye Order, the largest Buddhist order in South Korea, to sever ties with the GNP[47] and becoming financially independent without any funding from the government.[48] The interns and the staff working in the National Assembly officially complained on December 17 that their salary was unpaid after the passing of this bill.[49]

Views of Individual Party Members

Certain members of the Liberty Korea Party have faced criticism for expressing anti-refugee,[50] homophobic views[51][52] and advocacy of authoritarian rules of the October Restoration.[53]

List of leaders

Chairpersons
  • Note
  • ERC - 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
(4) 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-sungERC 4 June 2010 14 July 2010 Appointed
8 12 Ahn Sang-soo 14 July 2010 9 May 2011 see 2010 election
— — Jeong Ui-hwaERC 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-hyeERC 19 December 2011 15 May 2012 Appointed
10 14 Hwang Woo-yea 15 May 2012 15 May 2014 see 2012 election
— — Lee Wan-kooERC 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-okERC 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-jinERC 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-joonERC 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 27August 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
(14) 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 Incumbent

Election results

Presidential elections
Election Candidate Total votes Share of votes Outcome
1997 Lee Hoi-chang 9,935,718 38.7% Lost N
2002 Lee Hoi-chang 11,443,297 46.5% Lost N
2007 Lee Myung-bak 11,492,389 48.7% Elected Y
2012 Park Geun-hye 15,773,128 51.6% Elected Y
2017 Hong Jun-pyo 7,841,017 24% Lost N

General elections
Election Total seats won Total votes Share of votes Outcome of election Election leader
2000
133 / 273
 7,365,359 39.0% 6 seats; Minority Opposition Lee Hoi-chang
2004
121 / 299
 7,613,660 35.8% 12 seats; Minority Opposition Park Geun-hye
2008
153 / 299
 6,421,727 37.4% 32 seats; Majority Government Kang Jae-seop
2012
152 / 300
 9,130,651 42.8% 1 seats; Majority Government Park Geun-hye
2016
122 / 300
 7,960,272 33.5% 30 seats; Minority Government Kim Moo-sung

Local elections
Election Metropolitan mayor/Governor Provincial legislature Municipal mayor Municipal legislature Election leader
1998
6 / 16
224 / 616
74 / 232
 Cho Soon
2002
11 / 16
467 / 682
136 / 227
 Seo Cheong-won
2006
12 / 16
557 / 733
155 / 230
1,621 / 2,888
 Park Geun-hye
2010
6 / 16
288 / 761
82 / 228
1,247 / 2,888
 Chung Mong-joon
2014
8 / 17
416 / 789
117 / 226
1,413 / 2,898
 Lee Wan-koo
2018
2 / 17
137 / 824
53 / 226
1,009 / 2,927
 Hong Jun-pyo

Footnotes

    Party Splits
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    gollark: Wait, that means it's not ACTUALLY closed, so bees.
    gollark: Oh dear.
    gollark: No.

    See also

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