List of political parties in South Korea

This article lists political parties in South Korea. South Korea has a weakly institutionalized multi-party system,[1][2] characterized by frequent changes in party arrangements. Political parties have a chance of gaining power alone.

Current parties

Main parties

	Party		Assembly seats	Party leader	Floor leader	Position	Ideology
Parliamentary group		Democratic Party 더불어민주당	176	Lee Nak-yon (Elected August 29)	Kim Tae-nyeon	Centre[3] to centre-left[4]	Liberalism[5] Social liberalism[6]
		People Power Party 국민의힘	103	Kim Chong-in	Joo Ho-young	Right-wing[7]	Conservatism Social conservatism Anti-communism
Non-Parliamentary group		Justice Party 정의당	6	Sim Sang-jung	Bae Jin-gyo	Centre-left[8]	Social democracy Progressivism Reformism
		People Party 국민의당	3	Ahn Cheol-soo	Kwon Eun-hee	Centre to centre-right	National liberalism Conservative liberalism
		Open Democratic Party 열린민주당	3	Lee Keun-shik	Kim Jin-ae	Centre to centre-left	Social liberalism
		Basic Income Party 기본소득당	1	Shin Ji-Hae	Yong Hae-In	Single-issue	Universal Basic Income (Single issue)
		Transition Korea 시대전환	1			Centre[9]	Pragmatism[9]

Conservative parties

• Uri Party (우리당)
• Liberty Party (자유당)
• Inter-Korean Unification Party (남북통일당)
• Korea Economic Party (한국경제당)
• Republican Party (공화당)
• Chinbak Yeondae (친박연대)
• Pro-Park New Party (친박신당)
• Our Republican Party (우리공화당)
• Christian Liberal Unification Party (기독자유통일당)
• Dawn of Liberty (자유의새벽당)
• Saenuri Party (2017) (새누리당)
• New National Participation Party (국민참여신당)
• Let's Go! Korea (가자코리아)
• The Christian Party (기독당)
• Dokdo is Korea Party (독도한국당)

Centrist parties

• Hongik Party (홍익당)
• Republic of Korea Party (대한민국당)
• Let's Go! Peace and Human Rights Party (가자!평화인권당)
• Let's Go! Environmental Party (가자환경당)
• Party for People's Livelihoods (민생당)

Liberal parties

• Awakened Civic Solidarity Party (깨어있는시민연대당)
• Future Democratic Party (미래민주당)

Progressive parties

• Labor Party (노동당)
• Green Party (녹색당)
• Our Future (미래당)
• Progressive Party (진보당), known as the Minjung Party until June 21, 2020

Single-issue parties

• Women's Party (여성의당)
• People's Democratic Party (민중민주당)
• Small and Medium-sized Businesses and Self-employed Peoples' Party (중소자영업당)

Unknown stances, third way, or syncretic parties

• National Revolutionary Dividends Party (국가혁명배당금당)
• Socialist Revolutionary Workers' Party, an unregistered left-wing to far-left political party. It is unable to register due to a ban on openly socialist or communist parties under the National Security Act.

Defunct parties

Timeline of all mainstream political parties

Conservative parties

Mainstream parties

• National Alliance for the Rapid Realization of Korean Independence (1946-1951)
• Liberal Party (1951–1960)
• Democratic Republican Party (1963–1980)
• Democratic Justice Party (1981–1990)
• Democratic Liberal Party → New Korea Party (1990–1997)
• Hannara Party → Saenuri Party → Liberty Korea Party (1997–2020)

Minor parties

• Korean Resistance Party (1945–1950)
• Federation Korean National Independence (1947–1951)
• Korea National Party (1947–1958)
• Democratic Unification Party (1973–1980)
• Korean National Party → New Democratic Republican Party (1981–1990)
• United People's Party → Democratic Party (1992–1995)
• United Liberal Democrats (1995–2006)
• People First Party (2005–2008)
• Liberty Forward Party → Advancement Unification Party (2008–2012)
• Pro-Park Coalition → Future Hope Alliance (2008–2012)
• Hannara Party (2012)
• Evergreen Korea Party (2017–2018)
• Grand National United Party (2017–2018)
• Bareun Party (2017–2018)
• Bareunmirae Party (2018~2020)
• New Conservative Party (2020)

Liberal parties

Mainstream parties

• Korea Democratic Party → Democratic National Party (1945–1955)
• Democratic Party (1955–1961)
• Civil Rule Party (1963–1965)
• People's Party → New Democratic Party (1965–1980)
• Democratic Korea Party (1981–1988)
• New Korea and Democratic Party (1984–1988)
• Reunification Democratic Party (1987–1990)
• Peace Democratic Party (1987–1991)
• Democratic Party (1991–1995)
• National Congress for New Politics (1995–2000)
• Millennium Democratic Party → Democratic Party (2000–2008)
• The People's Party for Freedom → Uri Party (2002–2007)
• United New Democratic Party (2007–2008)
• United Democratic Party → Democratic Party (2008–2011)
• Democratic United Party → Democratic Party (2011–2014)

Minor parties

• Democratic Party (1963–1965)
• Democratic Party (1990–1991)
• Democratic Party (1995–1997)
• The Participation Party (2010–2011)
• New Political Vision Party (2014)
• Democratic Party (2014–2016)
• People's Party (2016–2018)
• Bareunmirae Party (2018~2020)
• Party for Democracy and Peace (2018~2020)
• New Alternatives (2019-2020)

Progressive parties

• Preparatory Committee for National Construction → People's Party of Korea → People's Labor Party (1945–1950)
• Workers' Party of South Korea (1946–1953)
• Socialist Party (1951–1953)
• Progressive Party (1956–1958)
• United Socialist Party of Korea (1961–1967)
• Hankyoreh Democratic Party (1988–1991)
• People's Party (1988)
• Popular Party (1990–1992)
• People's Victory 21 → Democratic Labor Party (1997–2011)
• Youth Progressive Party → Socialist Party → Korea Socialist Party → Socialist Party (1998–2012)
• New Progressive Party (2008–2012)
• People's United Party (2016–2017)
• New People's Party (2017)

Green parties

• Korea Greens (2004–2008)

Banned parties

• Progressive Party (1956–1958)
• Revolutionary Party for Reunification → National Democratic Front of South Korea → Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front (1969–2005)
• Unified Progressive Party (2011–2014)[10]

See also

• List of ruling political parties by country
• Politics of South Korea
• Conservatism in South Korea
• Liberalism in South Korea
• Progressivism in South Korea
• List of Korea-related topics

References

1. Wong, Joseph (2015). "South Korea's Weakly Institutionalized Party System". Party System Institutionalization in Asia: Democracies, Autocracies, and the Shadows of the Past. Cambridge University Press. pp. 260–279.
2. Wong, Joseph (2012). "Transitioning from a dominant party system to multi-party system: The case of South Korea". Friend or Foe? Dominant Party Systems in Southern Africa: Insights from the Developing World. United Nations University Press. pp. 68–84.
3. The Democratic Party of Korea is described as a centrist party by numerous sources:
   • "Democratic Party of Korea". Britannica.com. Democratic Party of Korea (DP), Korean Daeburo Minjudang, centrist-liberal political party in South Korea.
   • "Political Populism: Eroding Asia's Complex Interdependence? – Analysis". Eurasia Review. 1 November 2019. The South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s centrist-liberal Democratic Party has also reflected and tactically deployed the considerable popular nationalist sentiment in South Korean society as he vowed in early August that in the escalating bilateral trade dispute the country would “never again lose to Japan”.
   • "South Korea: Economic and Political Outline". Santander. July 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019. The Minjoo Party: centre, socially liberal main opposition party, result of a 2014 merger between the Democratic Party and the New Political Vision Party, first party in the Parliament since August 2017
   • "The Justice Party and the South Korean Left: A movement with potential, but divided and struggling". Europe Elects. 14 November 2019. With most of national politics dominated by the centrist Democratic Party and the right-wing Liberty Korea Party (자유한국당), successor to the former governing Saenuri Party, there is little space for the Justice Party to find an opening for electoral success.
   • "Topic Brief - Academy Model United Nations" (PDF). ACADEMY MODEL UNITED NATIONS XXI.
   • Ahn, JH (19 September 2016). "South Korea split over whether to aid "arch-nemesis" in flood relief". NK news.org. Her party, Saenuri, has also remained silent on the issue, in sharp contrast to centrist Minjoo Party [sic], which on Monday urged Seoul to look beyond politics and help its neighbor.
4. • "Moon Jae-in: South Korean liberal claims presidency". BBC. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2019. Mr Moon, of the centre-left Democratic Party, unsuccessfully ran against Ms Park in 2012 elections.
   • "South Koreans set to continue backing President Moon's agenda in local elections". Foreign Brief. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2019. his centre-left Democratic Party of Korea is expected to make major political gains
5. The Democratic Party of Korea is described as a liberal party by numerous sources:
   • Jesús Velasco (4 July 2019). American Presidential Elections in a Comparative Perspective: The World Is Watching. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 154. ISBN 978-1498557580.
   • "Democratic Party of Korea". Britannica.com. Democratic Party of Korea (DP), Korean Daeburo Minjudang, centrist-liberal political party in South Korea.
   • Steven Denney (12 August 2016). "Dong-A Ilbo Sees Minjoo Party at a Crossroads". sino NK. Having been handily defeated in the last two presidential elections (2007 and 2012), some say that the main liberal party, the Minjoo Party (더불어 민주당) is in need of an identity change.
     
   • Steven Borowiec (24 February 2016). "South Korean lawmakers try first filibuster since 1969 to block anti-terrorism bill". Los Angeles Times. In recent years, the main liberal party, now the Minjoo Party, has changed its name, and had many high-profile members defect amid infighting and electoral defeats.
6. "An Identity Crisis for South Korea's Opposition". The Diplomat. 31 December 2015. South Korea's main opposition social-liberal party is reeling (again) from intraparty factional struggle. Rebranded earlier this week "the Minjoo Party of Korea" (formerly New Politics Alliance for Democracy), the party is searching for a new identity and direction after high profile and popular assemblyperson Ahn Cheol-soo defected on December 13.
7. "Three minor parties merge ahead of April elections". Yonhap News Agency. 24 February 2020. Last Monday, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party merged with the New Conservative Party and Forward for Future 4.0 to create the right-wing United Future Party (UFP).
8. "Minor opposition party picks Rep. Shim Sang-jung as new chief". Yonhap News. 2015-07-18. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
9. "시대전환 '비례연합정당' 참여하나… 16일 중 최종결정". Kyunghyang Shinmun. 16 March 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2019. 중도·실용주의 신생정당인 ‘시대전환’이 16일 더불어민주당이 주도하는 비례연합정당 참여를 최종 결정할 예정인 것으로 전해졌다.
10. Yonhap News Agency, December 19, 2014, , “...South Korea's Constitutional Court on Friday ordered the dissolution of a pro-North Korean minor opposition party...”

Bibliography

• The present state of registered political parties, National Election Commission of S. Korea.
• The present state of political parties registration, National Election Commission of S. Korea, May 29, 2008.