The Democratic Party (DP; ) was a liberal

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area'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. Formerly named the United Democratic Party (UDP; ), it was the main opposition party in the 18th Assembly. In late 2011, it merged into the

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

History

The party was originally formed as the

Uri Party The Yeollin Uri Party (), generally abbreviated to Uri Party (), was the ruling social-liberal political party in South Korea from 2003 to 2007. A liberal party, it was created to support then-President Roh Moo-hyun. Chung Sye Kyun was the last ...

(''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 from 2003 to 2008. Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...

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

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 Han ...

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 liberal party Grand Unified Democratic New Party (). After a year, the Grand Unified Democratic New Party merged with the 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 Confederation of Democratic Trade Unions, also known as Minju-nochong (; an acronym for "KCTU" in Korean), is a national trade union centre in South Korea officia ...

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 party's candidate in the 2007 South Korean presidential elec ...

& Democratic Party (2007) #

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

& Park Sang-Chun (17 February 2008 – 29 May 2008) # Chung Se-kyun (30 May 2008 – 3 October 2010) #

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

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

Election results

Notes

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