The Korea Democratic Party (, KDP) was the leading opposition party in the first years of the
First Republic of Korea
The first Republic of Korea () was the government of South Korea from August 1948 to April 1960. The first republic was founded on 15 August 1948 after the transfer from the United States Army Military Government that governed South Korea sin ...
. It existed from 1945 to 1949, when it merged with other opposition parties.
The
U.S. military government has defined the KDP as
conservatives
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 in ...
with high educational standards, and believes they want
Western democracy
Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into di ...
. However, modern South Korean political academia recognizes them as
South Korea's first liberal party. However, unlike the current
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
, the KDP was an right-wing anti-communist,
Confucian conservative and economic liberal force hostile to communist forces in the
north
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
, advocating hatred and violence against leftist and
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
.
[
]
History
The KDP was established in 1945 by conservative nationalists headed by Song Jin-woo
Song Jin-woo (Hangul: 송진우, Hanja: 宋津宇; born February 16, 1966) is a retired South Korean left-handed pitcher who played for the Hanwha Eagles his entire career. Song played in the KBO League for 21 seasons between and . He current ...
who were opposed to the People's Republic of Korea
The People's Republic of Korea (PRK) was a short-lived provisional government that was organized at the time of the surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of World War II. It was proclaimed on 6 September 1945, as Korea was being divided ...
government set up by Lyuh Woon-hyung, instead backing the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
The Korean Provisional Government (KPG), formally the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, was a partially recognized Korean government-in-exile based in Shanghai, China, and later in Chongqing, during the period of Japanese c ...
.[Haruhiro Fukui (1985) ''Political parties of Asia and the Pacific'', Greenwood Press, pp670–671] After Song was assassinated later in the year, he was succeeded as leader by Kim Seong-su
Kim Seong-su (김성수, 金性洙; October 11, 1891 – February 18, 1955) was a Korean educator, independence activist, journalist, entrepreneur, politician and calligrapher, and the second vice president of South Korea from 1951–1 ...
.[ The Democratic Party won a third of the seats in the Interim Legislative Assembly elections in October 1946, and although it opposed the Assembly's existence due to some of its leadership being excluded,South Korea Under United States Occupation, 1945-48]
Library of Congress Country Studies
The Country Studies are works published by the Federal Research Division of the United States Library of Congress, freely available for use by researchers. No copyright is claimed on them. Therefore, they have been dedicated to the public domain a ...
the party provided several of the key figures in the interim administration.[
However, its closeness to the American occupation force, together with its association with the landed gentry, meant that it never gained significant popular support.][ In the May 1948 elections the party won only 29 of the 200 seats, and although it supported ]Syngman Rhee
Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960.
Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...
in the July 1948 presidential elections, none of its members were included in his cabinet, a snub that led to the party joining the opposition.
On 10 February 1949, it merged with other groups in the legislature to form the Democratic Nationalist Party.
Electoral results
See also
* Song Jin-woo (journalist)
Song Jin-woo (Korean: 송진우, hanja: 宋鎭禹, May 8, 1889 - December 30, 1945) was a Korean journalist, politician, independence activist, and social activist. His nickname was Goha (고하, 古下). He was the 3rd, 6th and 8th CEO of The D ...
References
{{South Korean political parties
Defunct political parties in South Korea
Political parties established in 1945
Anti-communist parties
Anti-communism in South Korea
Classical liberal parties
Social conservative parties
Democratic parties in South Korea
1945 establishments in Korea
Political parties disestablished in 1949
1949 disestablishments in South Korea