Democratic Korea Party

The Democratic Korea Party (Korean민주한국당; Hanja民主韓國黨; RRMinjuhangukdang, DKP) was a political party in South Korea.

Democratic Korea Party
민주한국당
Founded17 January 1981
Dissolved29 April 1988
HeadquartersSeoul, South Korea
IdeologyLiberalism (South Korean)
Party flag

History

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The DKP was established on 17 January 1981 following a meeting of fourteen former members of the New Democratic Party on 22 November 1980.[1] Yu Chi-song was elected party president, and its candidate for the February 1981 presidential elections, in which he finished second to the incumbent president Chun Doo-hwan.

In the March 1981 parliamentary elections the DKP received 21.6% of the vote, winning 81 seats and emerging as the second-largest party to Chun's Democratic Justice Party. The party was widely perceived as being under the control of the Chun Doo-hwan's government to preserve the pretense of democratic competition between parties. The party was not recognised by Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam as they both were barred from running elections.

In the 1985 elections the party was reduced to 35 seats. The party received just 0.2% of the vote in the 1988 elections, failing to win a seat. It was subsequently deregistered on 29 April 1988.[2]

Election results

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Legislature

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Election Leader Votes % Seats Position Status
Constituency Party list Total +/–
1981 Yu Chi-song 3,495,829 21.57
57 / 184
24 / 92
81 / 276
new 2nd Opposition
1985 3,930,966 19.68
26 / 184
9 / 92
35 / 276
  46 3rd Opposition
1988 32,799 0.17
0 / 224
0 / 75
0 / 299
  35 9th Extra-parliamentary

References

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  1. ^ Haruhiro Fukui (1985) Political parties of Asia and the Pacific, Greenwood Press, p666
  2. ^ 大韓民國選擧史 p124