The Labor Party () is a

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...

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 Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

History

After the New Progressive Party and the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...

voted to unite in 2012, the Labor Party was officially formed the following year. It held its interim party congress on 21 July 2013. On 5 February 2022, it was announced that the unregistered Socialist Revolutionary Workers' Party agreed to merge with the Labor Party in order to create a unified socialist vision for the 2022 South Korean presidential election under candidate Lee Baek-yoon.

Ideologies and political positions

The Labor Party is a political party led by the Minjungminju (PD) faction, a non-nationalist left-wing tendency. The Labor Party officially supports "definitely

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

politics", "

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks ...

" and " democratic socialism". LP also showed a

center-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ce ...

social democratic character until it absorbed the Socialist Revolutionary Workers' Party. Major Labor politicians are critical of "

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politics" (mainly seen in the Democratic,

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

, and Progressive Parties), and hold that true progressivism is only possible through

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

. LP envisions the realization of "socialist politics" beyond ' left-liberal politics' and '

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 in ...

politics' that have dominated South Korean politics. A Labor Party major politician, Lee Gap-yong (), has critiqued the

Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...

and Justice Party for not being truly " progressive". According to him, the Progressive Party, classified as far-left in the South Korean political context, has "given up"

. (However, unlike the Progressive Party, the Labor Party is not classified as far-left because it has a critical tendency toward

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 Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

Leadership

* Hong Sehwa and An Hyo-sang, 2012 *Kim Jong-cheol, 2012 (''acting'') * Kim Il-ung, 2012–2013 * Lee Yong-gill, 2013–2015 *

Na Gyung-che Na Gyung-che is the co-representative of the Justice Party in South Korea. He was a delegate of the Labor Party in South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern par ...

, 2015 *Choe Seung-hyeon, 2015 (''acting'') *Kim Sang-cheol, 2015 * Koo Kyo-hyun, 2015–2016 *Kim Gang-ho, 2016 (''acting'') *Lee Gap-yong, 2016–2018 *Na Do-won, 2018-2019 (''acting'') *Shin Ji-hae, Yong Hae-in, 2019 *Hyun Lin, 2019 (''acting'') *Hyun Lin, 2019–2021 *Na Do-won, 2021–2022 *Na Do-won, Yi Jong-hoe, 2022–present

Election results

President

Legislature

Local

References

External links

* Political parties in South Korea Democratic socialist parties in Asia Progressive parties in South Korea Socialism in South Korea Left-wing parties in South Korea {{SouthKorea-party-stub