Its earliest ancestor was the Democratic Republican Party[19] under the authoritarian rule of Park Chung Hee in 1963. On Park's death, and at the beginning of the rule of Chun Doo-hwan in 1980, it was reconstituted and renamed as the Democratic Justice Party. In 1988, party member Roh Tae-woo introduced a wide range of political reforms including direct presidential elections and a new constitution.
The party was renamed in 1993, during the presidency of Kim Young-sam,[20] with the merger of other parties to form the Democratic Liberal Party (Minju Jayudang). It was renamed as the New Korea Party (Sinhangukdang) in 1995, and it then became the Grand National Party in November 1997 following its merger with the smaller United Democratic Party and various conservative parties.[21]
1998–2007: Lost ten years
Logo of Grand National Party (1997–2004)
Three months later, in 1998, with the election of Kim Dae-jung of the National Congress for New Politics as president, the conservative party's governing role came to an end, and it began its first ever period in opposition, which would last ten years. In October 2012, the Advancement Unification Party merged with the Saenuri Party.[22]
Following the 2000 parliamentary elections, it was the single largest political party, with 54% of the vote and 133 seats out of 271. The party continued to control the National Assembly.
Logo of Grand National Party (2004–2012)
The party was defeated in the parliamentary election in 2004 following the attempted impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun, gaining only 121 seats out of 299. The party's defeat reflected public disapproval of the attempted impeachment, which was instigated by the party. This was the first time in its history the party had not won the most seats. It gained back five seats in by-elections, bringing it to 127 seats as of 28 October 2005.[23]
2008–2012: Recovering position of the ruling party and Lee Myung-bak government
On 19 December 2007, the GNP's candidate, former Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak won the presidential election,[24] ending the party's ten-year period in opposition.
In the April 2008 general election, the GNP secured a majority of 153 seats out of 299 and gained power in the administration and the parliament as well as most local governments, despite low voter turnout.[25]
One of the main bases of popular support of the party originates from the conservative, traditionalist elite and the rural population, except for farmers. It is strongest in the Gyeongsang region. Former party head, and 2007 presidential candidate, Park Geun-hye is the daughter of former President Park Chung Hee who ruled from 1961 to 1979. Although Representative Won Hee-ryeong and Hong Jun-pyo ran for the party primary as reformist candidates, former Seoul mayor and official presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak gained more support (about 40%) from the Korean public.
The GNP suffered a setback in the 2010 local elections, losing a total of 775 local seats throughout the counties,[26] but remained with the most seats in the region.
2012–2016: Renaming to Saenuri Party and Park Geun-hye government
Logo of Saenuri Party
Emergency Response Commission
The Hong Jun-pyo leadership system collapsed on 9 December 2011, and the GNP Emergency Response Commission was launched on 17 December 2011, with Park Geun-hye as commission chairperson, to prepare for the forthcoming Legislative Election 2012 on 11 April 2012, and the Presidential Election 2012 on 19 December 2012.[29]
There was a debate with Commission members about whether to transform the Grand National Party into a non-conservative political party or not, but Park said the GNP would never become non-conservative and will follow the real values of conservatism.[30][31]
In February 2012, the party changed its political official color from blue to red. This was a change from the previous 30 years where blue was usually the symbol of the conservative parties.[34]
Ideology and policies
Headquarters of the Liberty Korea Party
The party supports free trade and neoliberal economic policies. It favors maintaining strong cooperation with the United States and Japan, and also believes that each Korean first level province needs to have a sustainable economy.[35] The party is also conservative on social issues such as opposition to legal recognition of same-sex couples. The party supports equality between man and woman, as quoted, "and ensure that both men and women are equally guaranteed opportunities"[35]
Four major rivers project
One of the party's important policies is to financially secure The Four Major Rivers Project since President Lee Myung-bak was in office. This project's budget disputes have sparked controversial political motions in the National Assembly for three consecutive years.[36]
Sejong City project
The party has been less inclined toward the creation of a new capital city for South Korea, to be called Sejong City than the previous administration. As of 2012, the Saenuri Party has indicated that some governmental offices will be relocated to the new city, but not all.[citation needed]
Human rights activism
The party has been very active in promoting the North Korean Human Rights Law, which would officially condemn the use of torture, public executions and other human rights violations in North Korea.[37]
Party representative Ha Tae Kyung is the founder of Open Radio for North Korea, an NGO dedicated to spreading news and information about democracy, to which citizens of North Korea have little access due to their government's isolationist policies.[38] In April 2012, Saenuri member Cho Myung-Chul became the first North Korean defector elected to the National Assembly.[39] In spring 2012, several Saenuri representatives took part in the Save My Friend protests, organized to oppose China's policy of repatriating North Korean defectors, and expressed their solidarity with Park Sun-young's hunger strike.[40]
Controversy
Online sockpuppetry
The party has records of secretly hiring and paying university students to generate online replies favorable to the GNP.[41] GNP member Jin Seong-ho (진성호) formally apologized on 2 July 2009, for making a remark that "the GNP occupied Naver,"[42] one of the biggest South Korean internet portals.
8 December 2010, controversial bill-passing
The party passed a bill relating to the year 2011 national budget without the opposition parties' input on 8 December 2010.[43] It had caused legislative violence before. This process of passing the budget bill sparked controversy over potential illegality. Due to this incident, many South Korean political, academic and citizen groups expressed their outrage against current mainstream politics.[44] The reason for forceful passing of the bill was due mainly to the budget disputes over the controversial Four Major Rivers Project.[45] Many Buddhists in South Korea criticized the budget bill for neglecting the national Temple Stay program.[46] This has led the Jogye Order, the largest Buddhist order in South Korea, to sever ties with the GNP[47] and becoming financially independent without any funding from the government.[48] The interns and the staff working in the National Assembly officially complained on 17 December that their salary was unpaid after the passing of this bill.[49]
^"End of 2019, End of Candlelight Revolution's Hope". Korea Exposé. 1 January 2020. And anything would be an improvement on the nine-year rule (2008-2017) by Park's conservative Saenuri Party (now called Liberty Korea)—characterized by anti-communist fear-mongering and neoliberal economic policies favoring the country's powerful family-controlled corporations.
Jung Yu-kyung. "S. Korean conservatives more fragmented than ever". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved 13 January 2020. Other party members are worried that the confluence of party rallies and demonstrations by the "Taegukgi brigade" in Gwanghwamun and other places is reinforcing the party's reputation as being on the far right. This impression was clinched by an incident in which party supporters waving Taekgukgi (Korean flags) and American flags encircled the National Assembly while the LKP was attempting to block fast-tracked legislation.
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