The Democratic Republican Party (; DRP) was a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

, broadly

corporatist Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...

Kim, B. K. & Vogel, E. F. (eds.) (2011). ''The Park Chung Hee Era: The Transformation of South Korea''. Harvard University Press. p. 125. and

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

Kohli, A. (2004). ''State-Directed Development: Political Power and Industrialization in the Global Periphery''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 92. political party in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, ruling from shortly after its formation on February 2, 1963 to its dissolution under

Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean Republic of Korea Army, army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected Political strongman, strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah ...

in 1980.

History

Under the control of

Park Chung Hee Park Chung-hee (, ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 ...

President of South Korea The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (often abbreviated to POTROK or POSK; ), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president leads the State Council, and is ...

from his military coup d'état of 1961 until his assassination in 1979, the party oversaw a period of accelerated, state-directed industrialization and socio-economic modernization known as the "

Miracle of the Han River The Miracle on the Han River refers to the period of rapid economic growth in South Korea, following the Korean War (1950–1953), during which South Korea transformed from a least developed countries, least developed country to a developed co ...

", where a predominantly poor and agrarian country was transformed into an industrial "

tiger economy A tiger economy is the economy of a country which undergoes rapid economic growth, usually accompanied by an increase in the standard of living. The term was originally used for the Four Asian Tigers (South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapor ...

". The combination of state and corporate

chaebol A chaebol (, ; ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group whose power over the group often exc ...

power pioneered by the partyKohli, p. 27. continues to be deeply built into the foundations of the South Korean economic system. Following the promulgation in October 1972 of the

Yushin Constitution The fourth Republic of Korea () was the government of South Korea from November 1972 to March 1981. The Fourth republic was founded on the approval of the Yushin Constitution in the 1972 constitutional referendum, codifying the ''de facto'' di ...

, which implemented numerous authoritarian centralizing measures such as the direct appointment of a third of the National Assembly by the President, the DRP assumed an unprecedented level of political power. For the next eight years, South Korea was essentially a one-party state ruled by the DRP. After Park's assassination on 26 October 1979 and the seizure of power by

in the

coup d'état of December Twelfth The Coup d'état of December Twelfth (Hangul: 12.12 군사반란; Hanja: 12.12 軍事叛亂) or the "12.12 Military Insurrection" was a military coup d'état which took place on December 12, 1979, in South Korea. Republic of Korea Army Major Gen ...

, the DRP was dissolved on 1 September 1980, and nominally superseded by the

Korean National Party The Korean National Party ( ko, 한국국민당, Hangukgukmindang, Korea National Citizen's Party) was a political party in South Korea. History The party was established on 23 January 1981 following a meeting of fifteen former MPs from the Dem ...

. However, leadership of the state was assumed by the

Democratic Justice Party The Democratic Justice Party (; DJP) was the ruling party of South Korea from 1981 to 1988. History Chun had become the country's de facto leader after leading a military coup in December 1979, and was elected president in his own right in ...

, formed in January 1981, which may be seen as a spiritual successor of the DRP in terms of its constitutional vision and mimicking of Park's leadership style. Through this evolution, the

Grand National Party 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 Hanna ...

may be seen as the modern heir of the DRP, though the policies advocated by South Korean conservatives have changed significantly since South Korea's

democratization Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a ful ...

in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Election results

President

Legislature

References

{{South Korean political parties Defunct political parties in South Korea Fourth Republic of Korea Conservative parties in South Korea Far-right politics in South Korea National conservative parties Political parties established in 1963 Political parties disestablished in 1980 Right-wing populism in South Korea Right-wing populist parties Liberty Korea Party Park Chung-hee