Democratic Labor Party (South Korea)
The Democratic Labor Party (Korean: 민주노동당; Hanja: 民主勞動黨; RR: Minjunodongdang; MR: Minjunodongtang) was a progressive and nationalist political party in South Korea. It was founded in January 2000, in the effort to create a political wing for the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and was considered more left-wing and more independent of the two union federations in South Korea. Its party president was Kwon Young-gil, Kang Gi-gap, and Lee Jung-hee. In December 2011, the party merged into the Unified Progressive Party.
Democratic Labor Party 민주노동당 民主勞動黨 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Kwon Young-ghil |
| Assembly leader | Gang Gi-gap |
| Founded | 30 January 2000 |
| Dissolved | 5 December 2011 |
| Succeeded by | Unified Progressive Party |
| Headquarters | Jongdo Building, 25-1 Mullaedong2-ga, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul |
| Ideology |
|
| Political position | Left-wing[5][6] |
| Colours | Orange |
| Democratic Labor Party | |
| Hangul | 민주노동당 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Minjunodongdang |
| McCune–Reischauer | Minjunodongtang |
| Part of a series on |
| Progressivism in South Korea |
|---|
In the South Korean political history, DLP is considered as the ancestor of all of modern day left-leaning political parties such as Justice Party and Progressive Party.
History
The party gained 10 seats in the National Assembly for the first time in the 2004 parliamentary election, making it the first major left-wing party to enter the Assembly.
Before and during the 2007 presidential election, conflicts arose between the two main factions within the party. The "equality" or the "left" faction, represented by the People's Democracy group, stressed issues ranging from social welfare, civil liberties, and labor rights, and took an antagonistic position against ruling liberal Roh Moo-hyun government.
Against them, the "autonomy" faction, represented by the National Liberation group,[7] emphasized anti-imperialist struggle and viewed Korean reunification to be a paramount goal. In contrast to the "left" faction, "autonomy" faction advocated "democratic coalition government" (민주연립정부) with the ruling Uri Party, and took a reconciliatory position towards Roh government.
After the 2007 presidential election, the People's Democracy faction quit the party and formed the New Progressive Party (NPP).[7] Despite the split, DLP gained 5 seats in the National Assembly in the 2008 election, but NPP gained none.[8] In the 2009 by-election, NPP got one seat. On 5 December 2011, the party merged with the People's Participation Party and a faction of the NPP to found the Unified Progressive Party by Lee jung-hwee.
Political position
The Democratic Labor Party was originally considered as a democratic socialist party, including some left-wing nationalist ideologies. The party strongly opposed two-party system in South Korea, and represented the broad left-wing tendencies against the major liberal and conservative parties.
In 2008, the socialist-leaning Minjungminju-wing (Korean: 민중민주파; lit. People's Democracy-faction, PD) left the party after the ideological dispute about North Korea and established the New Progressive Party. After the party split, remained nationalist-leaning Minjokhaebang-wing (Korean: 민족해방파; lit. National Liberation-faction, NL) tried to make a partnership with major liberal Democratic Party. From the 2010 local elections, the party joined an electoral coalition with the Democratic Party.
In June 2011, the Democratic Labor Party removed "socialism" from the party code and replaced the phrase "socialism" (사회주의) with "progressive democracy" (진보적 민주주의), a liberal ideology.[9][10]
Election results
President
| Election | Candidate | Votes | % | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Kwon Young-ghil | 957,148 | 3.9 | Not elected |
| 2007 | 712,121 | 3.02 |
Legislature
| Election | Leader | Constituency | Party list | Seats | Position | Status | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | +/- | Votes | % | Seats | +/- | No. | +/– | ||||
| 2000 | Kwon Young-ghil | 223,261 | 1.18 | 0 / 227 |
new | 0 / 46 |
new | 0 / 273 |
new | 5th | Extra-parliamentary | ||
| 2004 | 920,229 | 4.31 | 2 / 243 |
 2 |
2,774,061 | 13.03 | 8 / 56 |
10 |
10 / 299 |
10 |
3rd | Opposition | |
| 2008 | Chon Young-sae | 583,665 | 3.39 | 2 / 245 |
 |
973,445 | 5.68 | 3 / 54 |
 5 |
5 / 299 |
10 |
5th | |
Local
| Election | Leader | Metropolitan mayor/Governor | Provincial legislature | Municipal mayor | Municipal legislature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Kwon Young-ghil | 0 / 16 |
11 / 682 |
2 / 232 |
|
| 2006 | Moon Sung-hyeon | 0 / 16 |
15 / 733 |
0 / 230 |
66 / 2,888 |
| 2010 | Kang Gi-gap | 0 / 16 |
24 / 761 |
3 / 228 |
115 / 2,888 |
See also
- Unified Progressive Party
- Politics of South Korea
- Lists of political parties
- Kwon Young-ghil
- Social Democratic Party (Japan) - DLP interacted with major Japanese social democrats and democratic socialist politicians, including Mizuho Fukushima.[11]
- Socialism in South Korea
References
- Kim, Sunhyuk (2007), "Civil society and democratization in Korea", Korean Society, Taylor & Francis, p. 65, ISBN 9780203966648
- Chang, Yun-Shik (2008), "Left and right in South Korean politics", Korea Confronts Globalization, Taylor & Francis, p. 176, ISBN 9780203931141
- 민주노동당 강령, 민주노동당 강령개정위원회, 2000
- Park, Mi (2008), Democracy and Social Change: A History of South Korean Student Movements, 1980-2000, Peter Lang, p. 231, ISBN 9783039110667
- Bae, Joonbum (2009), "The South Korean Left's 'Northern Question'", Korea Yearbook 2009, Brill, p. 90, ISBN 978-9004180192
- Lim, Hyun-Chin (2008), "Impacts of globalization and restructuring", Korea Confronts Globalization, Taylor & Francis, p. 161, ISBN 9780203931141
- Jeong Jae Sung (1 February 2008), "The Debate to End the DLP's Pro-North Korea Stance: the Roots of a 20-Year Conflict", Daily NK, retrieved 25 March 2012
- Jackson, Andy (27 January 2010), Happy 10th birthday Democratic Labor Party!, Asian Correspondent, retrieved 25 March 2012
- "정의당이 민주노총을 때리는 이유" [The reason why the Justice Party hits the Minju-nochong.]. 매일노동뉴스. 2021-08-30. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
이후 당대표 선거에 나온 후보들은 너도나도 '비정규직의 당'을 만들겠다고 약속했다. 민주노동당은 민족해방파(NL) 세력의 주도로 당 강령에서 '사회주의'라는 말을 지우고 이를 '진보적 민주주의'로 갈아 치웠다.
- "민주노동당 사회주의 문구 뺀 강령 개정 2/3통과". 참세상. 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
최규엽 새세상연구소장은 강령개정안 설명을 통해 "이번 강령개정의 원칙은 당원의 눈높이와 국민의 눈높이에 맞췄다"며 "2009년 6월 정책당대회에서 결정한 선언문에 진보적 민주주의를 새로운 체제적 대안으로 선언했다. 이 진보적 민주주의를 고민하고 토론해 이번 강령으로 제출했다. 강령 개정의 핵심은 진보적 민주주의 체제"라고 설명했다.
- ""진보 정당 살리려면 비례대표 늘어나야"" ["To revive a progressive political party, proportional representation needs to increase".]. 시사IN (in Korean). 29 April 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2021.