Advancement Unification Party () or AUP formerly known as Liberty Forward Party was a conservative 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 ...
. This party was created by
Lee Hoi Chang, the presidential candidate who lost
2007 presidential elections. On 12 February 2008, the party merged with the
People First Party, which got 18 seats in the
2008 Parliamentary election, making it the third-largest party in the National Assembly.
The party was absorbed by
Saenuri 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 Han ...
on 16 November 2012.
Human rights activism
In February–March 2012, just before
the scheduled national elections, Liberty Forward Party representative Park Sun-young became active in the "Save My Friend" campaign, a series of protests protesting China's policy of forcibly repatriating
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
n refugees; she went on hunger strike in front of the Chinese embassy in Seoul and was hospitalized after fainting; once she recovered she resumed her efforts to raise awareness about North Korean human rights issues. In April, during a speech at an event hosted by the Korean-American Freedom League, Park criticized the Catholic Association for Peace and Justice, questioning its silence on the plight of North Korean refugees and arguing that the Left's
anti-Americanism
Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment) is prejudice, fear, or hatred of the United States, its government, its foreign policy, or Americans in general.
Political scientist Brendon O'Connor at the United States Studies Centr ...
was distracting from much more serious issues: "Defectors) are ruthlessly being killed, so how can you remain completely silent? In the Republic of Korea, there is a wildfire anti-American movement, but they never make a single critical statement against China."
2012 election
100px, Liberty Forward Party logo
In the
2012 National Assembly election the party lost all but five of its 18 seats, declining to the fourth position, well behind the left-leaning
Unified Progressive Party
The Unified Progressive Party (UPP; ko, 통합진보당, RR: ''Tonghap Jinbo-dang'', Hanja: 統合進步黨) is a banned political party in South Korea. It was founded on 5 December 2011 as a merger of the Democratic Labor Party, the People ...
(which gained seats). Party leader Sim Dae-pyung announced his resignation after the party's poor performance.
Yonhap News Agency. "Ruling party leader pledges new beginning after election win" 12 April 2012
/ref>
Electoral results
References
External links
Official web site
{{South Korean political parties
2008 establishments in South Korea
2012 disestablishments in South Korea
Conservative parties in South Korea
Defunct political parties in South Korea
Liberty Korea Party
Political parties disestablished in 2012
Political parties established in 2008