PARTY DISSOLVED ON MARCH 26, 2014.
A number of South Korean political parties professing a centre-left ideology have used the name Democratic Party or had their members referred to as Democrats.
The first Democratic Party (1955-1961) was led by Prime Minister Chang Myon and opposed the administration of Syngman Rhee.
The second Democratic Party (1990-1991) was formed by members of Kim Young-sam's Democratic Unification Party* who opposed merging with the ruling Democratic Justice Party.
The third Democratic Party (1991-1995) was formed by the merger of the previous Democratic Party and Kim Dae-jung's Peace and Democracy Party.
The fourth Democratic Party (2005-2008) was formed when the remaining members of the Millennium Democratic Party changed their name after most of their members left to form the Uri Party.
The fifth Democratic Party (2008-2011) was formed when the previous Democratic Party merged with the United New Democratic Party. It was initially called the United Democratic Party but was colloquially called the Democratic Party and eventually changed its name officially.
The current Democratic Party (2011-present) was formed when the previous Democratic Party merged with the Citizens Unity Party. It is officially called the Democratic United Party but its members are colloquially called Democrats the same as with the previous party. An official name change is seen as possible if not likely.
*Members of the Democratic Unification Party were also colloquially called Democrats but they are not listed under that banner on this site. |