Progressive Party (South Korea, 2017)

The Minjung Party (민중당; lit. 'People's Party') was formed on 15 October 2017 as a merger of the New People's Party and People's United Party.^[4] Both parties were continuations of the Unified Progressive Party, a party that was dissolved and banned by a Constitutional Court ruling in 2014 for its allegedly pro-North Korean and "anti-constitutional" activity.^[5][6] When it formed, the party had two members in the National Assembly, both from Ulsan. On 22 December 2017, the supreme court convicted representative Yoon Jong-oe of breaking campaign laws and he was removed from office.^[7]

In July 2018, members of the Minjung Party met with members of the North Korean Social Democratic Party in China. The meeting was not authorized by the Ministry of Unification which could have punished the party for violations of South Korea's National Security Act. Jung Tae-heung, the co-chair of the Minjung Party, stated that he was warned the party may be fined for the meeting.^[8] In August 2019, the party supported the nationwide protests against Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and the boycott against Japanese products.^[9]

The party lost its remaining seat in the 2020 legislative election. The Minjung Party tried to join the Platform Party, a proportional party created by the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). However, the DPK refused to let them do so.^[10] On 6 June 2020, the party changed its name from the Minjung Party to the Progressive Party.^[11]

In March 2022, suspicions arose that some party officials were operating in South Korea while receiving orders from North Korea. The Progressive Party denied that they had ever received orders.^[12] In January 2023, President Yoon Suk-yeol's administration launched investigations into Progressive Party members for allegedly planning anti-American and anti-government activities by receiving orders from North Korea spies. The Progressive Party protested that this was simply a crackdown on progressive political groups.^[13] Editorials in the Kyunghyang Shinmun expressed concerns that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration was pressuring labor unions and civic groups and creating a police state through counterintelligence investigations.^[14]

In a by-election held on 5 April 2023, the Progressive Party once again became a parliamentary party after securing one seat. Kang Sung-hee was elected in Jeonju B district, which was a stronghold of the DPK. The DPK does not run candidates in by-elections if the Democratic politician was removed from office due to breaking the law, and their former representative had been arrested and removed from office for bribing voters with cash handouts. The election was held as a six-way contest between a Progressive Party candidate, the conservative People Power Party and four independents, including two Democrats who ran as independents. The Progressive Party's re-entry into Parliament drew intense criticism from right-wing conservative media. In particular, right-wing newspaper The Chosun Ilbo criticized in articles and editorials that some of the members of the Progressive Party were suspected of pro-North Korea espionage and that the party was the successor of the Unified Progressive Party.^[15][16] Meanwhile, media outlets with a liberal/progressive stance, such as Hankyoreh, gave a positive assessment. They suggested that the party's candidate would secure a seat, largely due to the Democratic Party of Korea employing 'color theory' tactics.^[17]

In the 2024 legislative election, the joined the Democratic Party-led Democratic Alliance of Korea and gained three seats.

The Progressive Party is left-wing.^[18][19][20] It is usually classified by Korean media outlets as "far-left" (Korean: 극좌; Hanja: 極左)^[2][3][21] or "radical left".^[22][23] However, the party does not officially advocate generally accepted far-left positions such as anti-capitalism, communism, or anarchism. The Progressive Party supports the restoration of South Korea's sovereignty and full "independence" in the international community. The term "independence" here means opposition to Japanese imperialism, support for reunification with North Korea, a protectionist trade policy, and establishment of equitable diplomatic relations with world powers such as the United States.^[24] The party's official ideology is "progressivism", not "socialism".^[25][26] The Progressive Party is in favour of direct democracy, to be used as a mean for the minjung to actively participate in politics.^[24][27]

The most important reason for the Progressive Party's classification as far-left in South Korean politics is opposition to American imperialism. The Progressive Party believes that South Korea's socioeconomic contradictions are primarily due to the United States, rather than China or Japan, and hence opposes American domination of the Korean economy. This is a significant departure from liberal parties such as the DPK and JP, who are hostile to China and Japan but somewhat favourable to the United States in order to offset Chinese and Japanese hegemony. The Progressive Party, in particular, advocates dissolving the alliance between the United States and South Korea.^[28][29][30]

Political conservatives accused the Progressive Party of being merely an attempt to re-establish the Unified Progressive Party.^[56]

Politicians affiliated with the liberal Democratic Party of Korea have criticized the Progressive Party for its anti-American activities. Unlike the Progressive Party, the Democratic Party of Korea supports a foreign policy that is friendlier to the United States.^[17]

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  First logo of the Jinbo (formerly known as Minjung) Party
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  Second logo of the Jinbo (formerly known as Minjung) Party
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  Third logo of the Jinbo party (formerly known as Minjung) Party

• Hanchongnyon
• Minjung
• Undongkwon
• Voice of the People (website)