The Yeollin Uri Party (), generally abbreviated to Uri Party (), was the ruling
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
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 ...
from 2003–2007. It had a liberal political ideology in order to support then
President
President most commonly refers to:
* President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...
Roh Moo-hyun
Roh Moo-hyun (; ; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea between 2003 and 2008.
Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...
.
Chung Sye Kyun was the last leader of the party and twice served as its chairman. In 2007 the party merged the
United New Democratic Party to form the
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
* ...
. The current-day descendant of the party is the
Democratic Party of Korea
The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK; ), formerly known as the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), is a liberal political party in South Korea. Controlling the unicameral National Assembly as of 2022, the DPK is regarded as one of two ...
, but progressives in the party have become members of the
Justice Party.
Brief history
The party was formed when the conservative-dominated
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
voted to impeach then President
Roh Moo-hyun
Roh Moo-hyun (; ; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea between 2003 and 2008.
Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...
, loyalists and pro-Roh faction in the
Millennium Democratic Party chose to break ranks from other party members who showed lukewarm support for the administration. Some 42 out of 103 lawmakers of the Millennium Democratic Party joined the new party, and 5 lawmakers from the conservative
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 ...
also joined, seeking to complete political reforms.
The Uri Party won a sweeping victory in the
2004 Parliamentary election, winning 152 of 299 seats. It was the first time that a liberal party had won a majority in 41 years.
Party platform and policy direction
Policywise, the Uri Party emphasized increased spending on social services for the low-income population while de-emphasizing economic growth. It was
conciliatory towards North Korea while moving away from the traditional military alliance with the U.S. and Japan. Even after North Korea had continued testing explosive devices, Uri Party members have for continued aid to North Korea, leading to heavy criticism from conservative parties and accusations of harboring Communist sympathizers. The Uri Party placed most of the blame for the crisis on the hard-line policies of the United States toward North Korea.
In addition, the party was the most
culturally liberal party among the historical liberal parties in South Korea. The Uri Party insisted on expanding
women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
and abolishing the
National Security Act. The party tried very hard to clear up the legacy of
far-right military dictatorship and
Japanese colonization, which is considered a tragedy in South Korean history. The bill, led by the party and Roh Moo-hyun, is
Special law to redeem pro-Japanese collaborators' property. Uri Party was also liberal in the issue of
disabled rights. In 2006, the 'Disability Discrimination Act' (장애인차별금지법) was enacted under the leadership of the Uri Party. The law was opposed by
conservative conglomerates.
The
Hankyoreh editorial evaluated that the Uri Party was close to
American liberalism
Liberalism in the United States is a political and moral philosophy based on concepts of unalienable rights of the individual. The fundamental liberal ideals of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, the separation of c ...
.
Significant events
The party came to international attention when their members physically blocked the speaker's chair in the National Assembly in a failed attempt to prevent the impeachment vote on President Roh on March 12, 2004. (The vote was subsequently overruled by South Korea's Constitutional Court on May 14, 2004.) The impeachment was influenced to the Assembly elections, which the party won a majority.
On August 19, 2004, the party suffered an embarrassing setback when party chairman
Shin Ki-nam resigned following revelations by a national investigation that his father had worked for the Japanese military police during the
Japanese occupation. The investigation, initiated on the 56th anniversary of Liberation Day (August 15, 2004) by President Roh, was a part of a national campaign to shed light on the activity of collaborators during the Japanese occupation. The campaign was vocally supported by Shin and backed by the Uri Party.
The party's popularity has decreased considerably after the 2004 election because of internal strife and scandals related to the President, who had admitted to feeling "incompetent" and unfit for the job. The Uri party failed to secure a single seat out of six electoral districts in the by-election held on April 30, 2005, losing its majority status in the National Assembly. Despite they lost the majority status, they relied support from the centrist Democratic Party and left-wing Democratic Labor Party, which the liberals maintained majority in the National Assembly.
Prior to the Uri Party's devastating defeat in regional elections held on May 31, 2006, Chung apologized for the party's "self-righteous attitude and inadequacy". The party failed to win in all but one area, while the opposition
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 ...
took 12 of the 16 key regional posts in the election. The Uri Party even lost in
Daejeon
Daejeon () is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of 1.5 million as of 2019. Located in the central-west region of South Korea alongside forested hills and the Geum River, the city is known both for its technology an ...
, a city long considered a secure ruling-party stronghold.
Merger with the Grand Unified Democratic New Party
On August 18, 2007, the delegates of the Uri Party decided to merge into the newly created
liberal party
Grand Unified Democratic New Party.
Uri Disbands to Merge With Liberal Party
The Korea Times
''The Korea Times'' is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the '' Hankook Ilbo'', a major Korean language daily; both are owned by Dongwha Enterprise, a wood-based manufactu ...
, Retrieved on August 19, 2007
Election results
Legislature
Local
See also
* List of liberal parties
* Politics of South Korea
* Liberalism in South Korea
** Democratic Party of Korea
The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK; ), formerly known as the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), is a liberal political party in South Korea. Controlling the unicameral National Assembly as of 2022, the DPK is regarded as one of two ...
- some Uri Party mamber
** Justice Party (South Korea)
The Justice Party (JP; ) is a centre-left to left-wing political party in South Korea. It has been placed as liberal, progressive, and social democratic. It was founded on 21 October 2012 when it split from moderates of the Unified P ...
- some Uri Party mamber
References
* (Aug. 19, 2004)
Disgraced Seoul party boss quits
''BBC News''.
* McGeown, Kate (Aug. 19, 2004)
Raking over S. Korea's colonial past
''BBC News''.
The Korea Times, January 16, 2006.
External links
Uri Party
official site (in Korean)
official site (in English)
official site (in Chinese)
{{Uri Party
Defunct political parties in South Korea
Defunct liberal political parties
Social liberal parties
Democratic parties in South Korea
Korean nationalist parties
Political parties established in 2003
Political parties disestablished in 2007
Centre-left parties in Asia
Roh Moo-hyun