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People Party (South Korea, 2020)

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People Party
국민의당
LeaderAhn Cheol-soo
Floor LeaderKwon Eun-hee
Secretary-GeneralChoi Yeon-sook
Chair of the Policy Planning CommitteeHong Sung-pil
Registered23 February 2020[1]
Dissolved18 April 2022[2]
Split fromBareunmirae Party
Merged intoPeople Power
Ideology
Political positionCentre[7] to centre-right[8][9][10]
Colours
  •   Orange[11]
  •   Navy blue
SloganA smaller but larger party,
Shared party,
Innovation party![12]
Website
peopleparty.kr
People Party
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationGungminuidang
McCune–ReischauerKungminŭidang

The People Party (Korean국민의당; lit. Party of Nationals; PP) was a political party in South Korea. The party was founded by Ahn Cheol-soo in February 2020, after leaving the Bareunmirae Party.[13] It has the same name as the People Party, which was also founded by Ahn and existed from 2016 to 2018.

In the 2020 South Korean legislative election, the party won three representatives for the National Assembly.

The People Party dissolved in April 2022 after merging with the conservative People Power Party.[2]

Political positions

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The party was the successor of the liberal People Party in 2018, but had become more economically liberal overall. People Party is described as a liberal[3] and conservative[4] party.[14]

People Party had somewhat more moderate liberal social positions than the previous old People Party, but it is not free from social conservatism.[15][16] Ahn Cheol-soo, a key figure of the party, has expressed a negative stance on Seoul's LGBT Pride parade event, called "kwieo-chukje" (Korean퀴어 축제; Hanja퀴어 祝祭; lit. Queer Festival) in Gwanghwamun, Seoul.[17] However, PP did not consistently stress a social conservative stance because it wished to present an image of "alternative politics," and to that end also criticized the conservative PPP in addition to the left-liberal DPK, which are the two "huge political parties" (Korean거대 양당; Hanja巨大兩黨). Ahn had criticized both Yoon Seok-youl of the PPP as well as Lee Jae-myung of the DPK for putting too much emphasis on men in their 20s and promoting misogyny.[18]

Merger and dissolution

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On 18 April 2022, party leader Ahn Cheol-soo agreed with a merger with the mainstream conservative People Power Party. This came after Ahn withdrew from the March 2022 Presidential Election in favor of endorsing Yoon Seok-youl for President. Yoon won the election by a narrow margin of 0.7%.[2]

Parliamentary leader for the People Party, Kwon Eun-hee, rejected the merger idea. She stated "I cannot accept the idea of the merger when it only helps to entrench further the nation's political system, which is led primarily by the two major parties, thereby limiting the voices of minor parties." Kwon has requested a release from the Party and from the party unification plans so that she can keep her seat as an independent proportional representative lawmaker in the National Assembly.

Electoral results

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Election Leader Constituency Party list Seats Position Status
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
2020 Ahn Cheol-soo 1,896,719 6.80
3 / 47
3 / 300
4th Opposition

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ 이경진 (23 February 2020). "국민의당, 오늘 중앙당 창당…"사즉생 각오로 기득권 벽 뚫을것"". KBS (in Korean).
  2. ^ a b c "(LEAD) Main opposition party, minor party announce merger". 18 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b "UFP tentatively adopts 'People's Power' as new moniker". Korea JoongAng Daily. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2022. Kim said he was not concerned with the name's similarity to the liberal People's Party.
  4. ^ a b "Stumbles on Ukraine; Final Debate Looms: South Korea Election". Bloomberg.com. 2 March 2022.
  5. ^ 안철수 "국민 뜻 겸허히 수용"…대권 행로 먹구름
  6. ^ 국민의당 정책공약집 - 총선 2호공약
  7. ^ 김형원 (22 February 2020). "安 "외로워도 중도 정치"… 안철수계 2명째 통합당 입당". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  8. ^ "통합당·국민의당 합친 '국민미래포럼'…"야권 통합 첫발" (The 'People's Future Forum' combined with UFP and PP... "First step in integrating opposition parties")". JoongAng Ilbo. 10 June 2020.
  9. ^ Cory Bisbee (17 April 2020). "COVID-19 Factor Powers South Korea's Ruling Party to Historic Victory". The Diplomat. Minor parties won just 12 seats — six for Sim Sang-jeung's progressive Justice Party, three for Ahn Cheol-soo's revived and now center-right People's Party, and three for the splinter liberal Open Democratic Party.
  10. ^ "Prospect grows for opposition coalition". The Korea Herald. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2020. Cooperative moves gained traction since the right-wing United Future Party, the largest opposition party with 103 lawmakers, and center-right People's Party with three lawmakers launched a joint study program called the People's Future Forum in early June, where party leaders and lawmakers share and discuss the future course of their policy directions.
  11. ^ Bae Jae-Sung (13 February 2020). "민중당 "당색 주황색 가로챘다"…안철수 측 "우린 오렌지색"". 중앙일보.
  12. ^ People Party
  13. ^ "'외로운 중도' 닻 올리는 국민의당…돌풍될까 미풍될까". 매일경제 (in Korean). 23 February 2020.
  14. ^ "Main opposition candidate seeks to stand on his own". The Korea Times. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2022. It is also probable that he will seek to form a coalition with the moderate-conservative People's Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo.
  15. ^ "'아줌마' 호칭에 차별 발언까지...성인지 감수성은 어디로?". Hankook Ilbo. 28 March 2021.
  16. ^ "죽음 앞에서도 멈추지 않는 혐오와 조롱, 성소수자의 현실". Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. 14 March 2021.
  17. ^ "안철수 '퀴어 축제 거부할 권리' 주장…'혐오 조장' 논란 여진". Hankyoreh. 19 February 2021.
  18. ^ "안철수 "尹·洪, 이대남 눈치보며 여성공약…이재명, 편가르기"". JoongAng Ilbo. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2021. 안철수 국민의당 대표가 이재명 더불어민주당 대선후보와 국민의힘 대선주자인 윤석열 전 검찰총장, 홍준표 의원을 향해 "여성 비하 대선후보들의 번지르르한 여성 공약"이라며 "여성을 혐오하고 막말과 욕설로 여성을 무참히 짓밟는 후보들이 번지르르한 공약을 내놓는다고 해서, 여성의 안전과 인권을 지켜낼 수 있다고 믿기는 어렵다"고 주장했다.