The Democratic Party (; DP) was a

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Formerly named United Democratic Party (; UDP), it was the main opposition party in the 18th

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

. In late 2011, it merged into the

Democratic United Party The Democratic Party (; DP), formerly the Democratic United Party (; DUP) until 2013, was a liberal political party in South Korea, and for the duration of its existence the country's main opposition force. On 15 December 2011, the Democratic ...

History

The party was originally formed as the

Uri Party The Yeollin Uri Party (), generally abbreviated to Uri Party (), was the ruling political party in South Korea from 2003–2007. It had a liberal political ideology in order to support then President Roh Moo-hyun. Chung Sye Kyun was the last le ...

(''Yeollin Uri-dang'') when loyalists to 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 ...

in the

Millennium Democratic Party The Democratic Party (; DP) was a political party in South Korea. Formerly named Millennium Democratic Party (; MDP), it was renamed in May 6, 2005. After its dissolution, its members joined the Uri Party or the successor Democratic Party. Hi ...

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

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. As a result of the 2004 Parliamentary election, the party won an outright majority in the National Assembly by winning 152 of 299 seats. It was the first time in over 40 years that a centre-left party had won a majority in the legislature. On 18 August 2007, the delegates of the Uri Party decided to disband the party and merge with the newly created

party called the Grand Unified Democratic New Party (). After a year, the Grand Unified Democratic New Party merged with 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 *Demo ...

, previously known as the Millennium Democratic Party on 17 February 2008, to form the United Democratic Party (''Tonghapminjudang''). In July 2008, the party changed its name to the Democratic Party. In local elections 2010, the Democratic Party scored a victory in eight mayoral and gubernatorial posts, including the Inchon mayorship. On 16 December 2011, the DP merged with the minor Citizens Unity Party to form the

. The

Korean Confederation of Trade Unions The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), literally translated as National Democratic Confederation of Trade Unions, also known as Minju-nochong ( ko, 민주노총; acronym for ''KCTU'' in Korean language) is a national trade union centr ...

also participated in the forming.

Presidents of DP

*''Preceding party'':

United New Democratic Party The Grand Unified Democratic New Party (; GUDNP) was a political party of South Korea. It was formed out of the Uri Party and its resulting splinter groups. Chung Dong-young was the UNDP candidate in the 2007 South Korean presidential election; ...

& Democratic Party (2007) #

Son Hak-Gyu Sohn Hak-kyu (born 22 November 1947) is a South Korean politician and the former governor of Gyeonggi-do, the most populous province in Korea. He became a politician in 1996 as a congressman of Grand National Party, and became a governor of Gye ...

Park Sang-Chun A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

(17 February 2008 – 29 May 2008) #

Chung Se-kyun Chung Sye-kyun () is a South Korean politician who has served as Speaker of the National Assembly from 2016 to 2018 and Prime Minister of South Korea from 2020 to 2021. He was previously leader of the main opposition Democratic Party between 20 ...

(30 May 2008 – 3 October 2010) #

Son Hak-gyu Sohn Hak-kyu (born 22 November 1947) is a South Korean politician and the former governor of Gyeonggi-do, the most populous province in Korea. He became a politician in 1996 as a congressman of Grand National Party, and became a governor of Gye ...

(3 October 2010 - Incumbent) *''Succeeding party'':

Election results

References

External links

Video on South Korea-US Relations
from th
Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital ArchivesOfficial site
{{South Korean political parties Defunct political parties in South Korea Defunct liberal political parties Democratic parties in South Korea Korean nationalist parties