Jeongui Jungangdang at Seoul in 2018 - 2

Sim supporters with Roh Hoechan and Kang Gigap at Busan in 2017 - 2

The Justice Party (JP; ) is a

centre-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 c ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It has been placed as

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 ...

, progressive, and

social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...

. It was founded on 21 October 2012 when it split from moderates of the

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 ...

. The Justice Party now takes a more moderate stance than the United Progressive Party or the Democratic Labor Party in the past.

History

The Progressive Justice Party changed its name to the Justice Party at the 2nd party congress on 16 July 2013. At the 4th party congress on 22 November 2015, the party officially merged with the extra-parliamentary groups: Preparatory Committee for the People's Party (2015), Labor Politics Coalition (노동정치연대), Members of Labor Party, after motions to merge the party with the Justice Party failed. After the merger,

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 ...

, Ex-leader of the Labor Party, and Kim Se-kyun, leader of Preparatory Committee for the People's Party, were elevated to co-leadership roles, while

Sim Sang-jung Sim Sang-jung (born 20 February 1959) is a South Korean politician and labor rights activist. She was one of the five major presidential candidates in the 2017 South Korean presidential election, running as the Justice Party's nominee. She agai ...

remained as a standing party leader. Kim Se-kyun stepped down from the co-leadership role in September 2016. In the legislative election held in April 2016, the party increased its seat total by one with the election of

Roh Hoe-chan Roh Hoe-chan ( ko, 노회찬, 31 August 1956 – 23 July 2018) was a South Korean politician. He was a member of the 17th, 19th, and 20th National Assemblies. Roh was involved with multiple progressive-leaning parties, lately with the Justice ...

to the Seongsan constituency in the city of

Changwon Changwon () is the capital city of Gyeongsangnam-do, on the southeast coast of South Korea. With a population of 1.07 million , Changwon is South Korea's ninth-most populous city. A port city, Changwon is bordered by Masan Bay to the south ...

. The party polled 7.2% in the party list ballot, returning a total of six legislators to the National Assembly. In the

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

election, Sim Sang-jung ran as the party's nominee after winning the party primary. Sim was endorsed by

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 ...

(KCTU) and ran a campaign focused on labor and social issues. Sim received media attention for being the only candidate arguing in favor of

marriage equality Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

during the debate. Sim won 6.2% of the vote, making her the most successful left-wing presidential candidate since the democratization of the country in 1987. In July 2017, with Sim's two-year leadership term coming to an end, the party

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

sitting National Assembly member Lee Jeong-mi as the new leader over Park Won-suk by 56 to 44. On 31 March 2018, the party confirmed its decision to form a

parliamentary group A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliamentar ...

with

Party for Democracy and Peace A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

, under the name of Members group of Peace and Justice. The

will be officially registered on 2 April. The incumbent floor leader of the party,

was chosen to head the parliamentary group in the National Assembly.

's abrupt passing on 23 July 2018 resulted in the automatic dissolution of the parliamentary group. Roh's death was widely mourned, attracting thousands of mourners and tributes across the South Korean political spectrum. The party retained Roh's

seat, beating Liberty Korea challenger in the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held on 13 April 2019. In July 2019, the party

as the new leader. It is her second non-consecutive term as the party's leader.

Political position

The Justice Party's political position is mainly referred to as

. However In South Korea's conservative political structure, it is also called

. Though experts in South Korea have also evaluated the Justice Party as closer to the

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

than centre-left like

social democratic parties in Europe Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

. The Justice Party officially advocates

social democracy Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

(사회민주주의) and

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

(자유주의). The party symbol is derived from the first letter L of "

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

" (노동) and "

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

" (자유). JP rejects social conservatism and takes a socially progressive stance on

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...

issues. JP has a prominent

cultural liberal Cultural liberalism is a social philosophy which expresses the social dimension of liberalism and advocates the freedom of individuals to choose whether to conform to cultural norms. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, it is often expressed a ...

tendency, and is also considered a "

social-liberal Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...

" party compared to DPK, which is relatively " conservative-liberal" than JP. Major JP politicians, including Jang Hye-young, criticize 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 maj ...

, but have a fairly favorable view of the

U.S. Democratic Party The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled a wide cadre of politicians in every state behind war hero An ...

style of modern liberalism and Joe Biden. JP values

fiscal responsibility A balanced budget (particularly that of a government) is a budget in which revenues are equal to expenditures. Thus, neither a budget deficit nor a budget surplus exists (the accounts "balance"). More generally, it is a budget that has no budge ...

and advocates tax increases for the creation of a

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitabl ...

. JP also opposes

basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive an unconditional transfer payment, that is, without a means test or need to work. It would be received independently of a ...

. However, they are active in the area of

labor rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influen ...

, where left-wing populists in the DPK are not interested in them. The Justice Party, like historical

social-democratic Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

to progressive parties or the liberal

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 ...

in the past, advocates the abolition of the National Security Law.

Ideology

Economy

The party calls for

structural change In economics, structural change is a shift or change in the basic ways a market or economy functions or operates. Such change can be caused by such factors as economic development, global shifts in capital and labor, changes in resource availabil ...

of the Korean economy through change to the current

chaebol A chaebol (, ; ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group whose power over the group often exc ...

-dominated economic system, democratic control of capitalistic excess through the implementation of

economic democracy Economic democracy is a socioeconomic philosophy that proposes to shift decision-making power from corporate managers and corporate shareholders to a larger group of public stakeholders that includes workers, customers, suppliers, neighbour ...

, and

public ownership State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownershi ...

of basic utilities. The party is pursuing an alternative form of economic system in which basic standards of living are provided for everyone, equally. Where public ownership or the market economy are inefficient, the party advocates a

social economy The social economy is formed by a rich diversity of enterprises and organisations, such as cooperatives, mutuals, associations, foundations, social enterprises and paritarian institutions, sharing common values and features: * Primacy of the i ...

, including

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

s, and further increasing the power levels of the social economy to that traditionally held by the market. The party also calls for the protection and increase of

, and they promote

unionization The organizing model, as the term refers to trade unions (and sometimes other social-movement organizations), is a broad conception of how those organizations should recruit, operate, and advance the interests of their members, though the specific ...

in the workplace, in order to equalize the power balance between capitalists and workers. The party advocates for the creation of a

, drastically increasing funding in the public sector, providing universal welfare services such as childcare, education, employment, housing, healthcare, and post-retirement life. The party will fund these programs through increased taxation based on redistributive fiscal policy.

Environment

The party calls for an end to unrestricted development, pursuing

sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

and

climate justice Climate justice is a concept that addresses the just division, fair sharing, and equitable distribution of the burdens of climate change and its mitigation and responsibilities to deal with climate change. "Justice", "fairness", and "equity" ar ...

. It is also in favor of

animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...

. It argues in favor of developing

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

, with an aim of doing away with oil and coal altogether. The party is against

nuclear energy Nuclear energy may refer to: *Nuclear power, the use of sustained nuclear fission or nuclear fusion to generate heat and electricity * Nuclear binding energy, the energy needed to fuse or split a nucleus of an atom *Nuclear potential energy ...

as an alternative, and advocates closing down old nuclear power plants and ceasing further construction of the plants.

Social issues

The party calls for the eradication of all forms of discrimination, advocating increased participation of the minorities in the political sphere. It further advocates pursuing

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

in the workplace and preserving women's right to choose to have an abortion. The party stands strongly against any form of oppression based on one's sexuality or gender identity. It calls for legislation cracking down on

hate crime A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

s to protect the human rights of minorities. It also acknowledges diverse family structures without any discrimination. JP most actively supports

multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...

and

anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate a ...

among major political parties in South Korea. JP criticizes China and Japan's hegemonic moves, but opposes

hate speech Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...

against

Chinese people The Chinese people or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation. Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by speakers of s ...

and

Japanese people The are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Japanese archipelago."人類学上は，旧石器時代あるいは縄文時代以来，現在の北海道〜沖縄諸島（南西諸島）に住んだ集団を祖先にもつ人々。" () Jap ...

. The progressive

saying, "I will not use anti-American, anti-Chinese and anti-Japanese sentiment in politics" in the 2022 South Korean presidential election.

Foreign relations

In the midst of the conflict between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

for regional hegemony and Japanese attempts at rearmament, the party believes peace in the Korean peninsula is a paramount issue. The party rejects any form of hegemony from both sides and refuses to take a side on the issue. However, JP is much more critical of China than the United States. Representatively, there is an online dialogue with

Ryu Ho-jeong Ryu Ho-jeong ( ko, 류호정, born 9 August 1992) is a South Korean politician. She was a member of the National Assembly of South Korea, National Assembly representing the Justice Party (South Korea), Justice Party. She was elected for the fir ...

and

Joshua Wong Joshua Wong Chi-fung (; born 13 October 1996) is a Hong Kong activist and politician. He served as secretary-general of the pro-democracy party Demosistō until it disbanded following the implementation of the Hong Kong national security law ...

in 2019, and in the same year, JP officially supported the Hong Kong democracy movement in 2019 at the party level. At the time, the main opposition LKP and the ruling DPK did not reveal the party's position in Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, fearing excessive friction with China. On the other hand, unlike JP's strong criticism of China, the level of criticism of the United States is weak and rather friendly. The reason why JP officially supports neutrality in the U.S.-China conflict is more related to

anti-Japanese sentiment Anti-Japanese sentiment (also called Japanophobia, Nipponophobia and anti-Japanism) involves the hatred or fear of anything which is Japanese, be it its culture or its people. Its opposite is Japanophilia. Overview Anti-Japanese senti ...

within the South Korean liberal camp than to sentiment toward the United States. JP opposes the "U.S.-led United States, Japan, and South Korea Triangle Alliance" (한미일 삼각 동맹). JP is also absolutely opposed to the entry of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

's Self-Defense Forces into the

Korean peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

when a war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula. Jang Hye-young, the party's main politician, is actively expressing her pro-American diplomatic and cultural views. She also participated in a project funded by the

National Democratic Institute The National Democratic Institute (NDI), or National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, is a non-profit American NGO that works with partners in developing countries to increase the effectiveness of democratic institutions. The NDI's ...

in the United States. JP criticizes the ultra-nationalist project led by the Japanese conservative government, but, unlike DPK, opposes excessive use of anti-Japanese sentiment in economics and diplomacy, leaving much more room for improving relations with

than DPK.

North Korea

The Justice Party insists that diplomacy with North Korea should be approached with the values of universal human rights rather than an unconditional appeasement approach. On 28 September 2020, Justice Party leader

expressed a critical view of 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 ...

's conciliatory policy toward North Korea based on

Korean nationalism Korean nationalism can be viewed in two different contexts. One encompasses various movements throughout history to maintain a Korean cultural identity, history, and ethnicity (or "race"). This ethnic nationalism was mainly forged in oppositio ...

, saying, "Some of the ruling party prioritize inter-Korean relations over the lives of our people, and this must be corrected." This critical view of North Korea, in particular, has deepened since 2020 due to conflicts with the ruling Democratic Party.

Leadership

Leaders

, Jo Jun-ho (co-serving; 21 October 2012 – 21 July 2013) #

Cheon Ho-sun Cheon Ho-sun (born September 10, 1962 in Seoul), alternatively spelled Chun Ho-sun, is a South Korean politician. He has a bachelor's degree in sociology from Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seou ...

(21 July 2013 – 18 July 2015) #

(18 July 2015 – 11 July 2017) #* Kim Se-kyun (co-serving; 22 November 2015 – 30 September 2016) #*

(co-serving; 22 November 2015 – 11 July 2017) # Lee Jeong-mi (11 July 2017 – 13 July 2019) #

(13 July 2019 – 12 October 2020) # Kim Jong-cheol (12 October 2020 – 25 January 2021) # Kim Yun-ki (25 January 2021 - 29 January 2021) ''(Interim)'' # Kang Eun-mi (29 January 2021 - 23 March 2021) ''(Interim)'' # Yeo Yeong-gug (23 March 2021 – 2 June 2022) #Lee Eun-ju (2 June 2022 - 28 October 2022) # Lee Jeong-mi (28 October 2022 - present)

Floor leaders

Kang Dong-won Gang Dong-won (born January 18, 1981) is a South Korean actor. Early life Gang Dong-won was born January 18, 1981, in Busan, and grew up in Changwon of Gyeongsangnam-do. His father, Gang Cheol-woo, was an engineer and later vice president of ...

(21 October 2012 – 2 May 2013) #

(13 July 2013 – 9 June 2015) # Jeong Jin-hoo (9 June 2015 – 29 May 2016) #

(30 May 2016 – 23 July 2018) # Yoon So-ha (23 July 2018 – 29 May 2020)As Interim Floor Leader Until 21 August. # Bae Jin-gyo (30 May 2020 – 1 September 2020) # Kang Eun-mi (9 September 2020 – present)

Election results

President

Legislature

Local

Notes

References

External links

* {{portal bar, Politics, South Korea, Liberalism Anti-racist organizations Centre-left parties in Asia Left-wing parties in Asia LGBT political advocacy groups in South Korea Liberal parties in South Korea Progressive parties in South Korea Social democratic parties in Asia Social liberal parties Abortion-rights organizations Welfare in South Korea 2012 establishments in South Korea Political parties established in 2012