Progressivism in South Korea

Progressivism (Korean: 진보주의; Hanja: 進步主義; RR: Jinbojuui) in South Korea is broadly associated with social democracy, cultural progressivism and left-wing nationalism.^[1] South Korea's "progressivism" is often used in a similar sense to 'South Korean Left' or 'leftist'.

Historically, there have been communist forces, but most of them have been powerless in South Korean politics.^[2]

History[]

Hyukshinkye[]

South Korea's early left-wing forces were mainly divided into 'communist' and 'non-communist'.

At that time, South Korean non-communist leftists were mainly called Hyukshinkye (Korean: 혁신계; Hanja: 革新系; lit. Innovation-faction). At that time, it was politically oppressed by (Including both centre-right liberal and far-right ultra-conservatives) strong right-wing anti-communists, In particular, the Korean War led to a significant weakening of the power as Hyukshinkye, South Korea's non-communist leftists, was also driven to be communists. So after the forced dissolution of the Progressive Party led by Cho Bong-am in 1958, it virtually collapsed politically.^[3]

Of course, progressive parties, including the United Socialist Party led by Kim Chul, continued the tradition of Hyukshinkye, but the power was minimal, and since the 1980s, Hyukshinkye's tradition has been completely cut off as Kim Chul and other key figures have turned pro-military conservatives.^[4]

PD and NL[]

The United States remained silent about the massacres in Gwangju by new-military coup forces in the 1980s, and furthermore, the United States approved the Chun Doo-hwan government. This served as an opportunity for some of the democratization movement forces in South Korea to have anti-American sentiment.^{[note 1]} As a result, some of South Korea's moderate liberals democratization activists gradually accepted socialism and became more left-wing. During this period, the left-wing movement in South Korea was largely divided into Minjungminju-wing(Korean: 민중민주파; lit. People's Democracy-faction, PD) and Minjokhaebang-wing(Korean: 민족해방파; lit. National Liberation-faction, NL). After the collapse of the Cold War in the 1990s, they moderate their tendencies than in the past to form a political party democratic force.^[6]

PD was a Western-style leftist, influenced by American liberalism, European socialism and Soviet communism, while NL was a left-wing nationalist who mixed South Korean indigenous ideas, radical reunificationism and social progressivism. PD and NL are political terms that refer to the two pillars of South Korea's progressive camp and are still frequently used today. As of now, the representative PD-affiliated progressive party has the Justice Party, and the representative NL-affiliated progressive party has the Minjung Party.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[6]

Shinjwapa[]

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, the New Left movement in Europe and the United States and postmodernist discourse became known, creating a Shinjwapa (Korean: 신좌파; Hanja: 新左派; lit. New Left faction) in South Korea. They advocate youth rights, LGBT rights and feminism. Currently, South Korea's representative Shinjwapa parties include the Green Party and Basic Income Party.^[10]^[11]

Progressive parties[]

Gujwapa (Old Left)[]

Communist or far-left socialist[]

Workers' Party of South Korea (1946–1953; banned)
Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front → National Democratic Front of South Korea → Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front (1969–; banned)
Socialist Revolutionary Workers' Party (2016–)

Hyukshinkye (Innovation-faction)[]

Preparatory Committee for National Construction → People's Party of Korea → People's Labor Party (1945–1950)
(1951–1953)
Progressive Party (1956–1958; banned)
United Socialist Party of Korea (1961–1967; banned 1961–1966)

Minjungminju (PD)[]

(1990–1992)
People's Victory 21 → Democratic Labor Party (1997–2011)
Youth Progressive Party → Socialist Party → Hope Socialist Party → Korea Socialist Party → Socialist Party (1998–2012)
New Progressive Party (2008–2012)
Unified Progressive Party (2011–2012)^[12]
Progressive Justice Party → Justice Party (2012–) - However, there are a few Minjokhaebang and Shinjwapa factions in the Justice Party.
Labor Party (2013–)

Minjokhaebang (NL)[]

People's Victory 21 → Democratic Labor Party (1997–2011)
Unified Progressive Party (2011–2014; banned)^[13]
People's United Party (2016–2017)
Socialist Revolutionary Workers' Party (2016–; unregistered)
New People's Party (2017)
Minjung Party → Progressive Party (2017–)

Shinjwapa (New Left)[]

Green Party Korea (2012–)
Our Future (2017–)
Basic Income Party (2020-)

Progressive-liberal[]

Progressive Party (1956–1958)
(1988)
Hankyoreh Democratic Party (1988–1991)
Popular Party (1989–1992)
Participation Party (2010–2011)
Unified Progressive Party (2011–2012)^[12]
Justice Party (2012–)

Peace and Justice (2018)

Basic Income Party (2020–)

Progressive media[]

OhmyNews - liberal-leaning bias
Pressian - progressive
Voice of the People - progressive, resistance nationalism
Yeoseong Shinmun - feminism

Progressive peoples[]

Bong Joon-ho
Ha-Joon Chang
[ko]
Hong Sehwa
Hong Seok-cheon
Jang Hye-young
Kwon In-sook
Lee Hyori^[14]
[ko]
[ko]
Lyuh Woon-hyung
Rhyu Si-min
Roh Hoe-chan
Ryu Ho-jeong
Pak Noja
Shin Hae-chul
Sim Sang-jung
Yun Hyon-seok

Major progressive parties election results of South Korea[]

Presidential elections[]

Election	Candidate	Total votes	Share of votes	Outcome	Party mame
1952	Cho Pong-am	797,504	11.4%	Defeated N	Independent
1956	Cho Pong-am	2,163,808	30.0%	Defeated N	Independent

1987		Quit midway through			Independent
1992		238,648	1.0%	Defeated N	Independent
1997	Kwon Young-ghil	306,026	1.2%	Defeated N
2002	Kwon Young-ghil	957,148	3.9%	Defeated N	Democratic Labor Party
2007	Kwon Young-ghil	712,121	3.0%	Defeated N	Democratic Labor Party
2007	Geum Min	18,223	0.07%	Defeated N	Korea Socialist Party
2012	Lee Jung-hee	Quit midway through			Unified Progressive Party
		16,687	0.05%	Defeated N	Independent
	Kim Soon-ja	46,017	0.15%	Defeated N	Independent
2017	Sim Sang-jung	2,017,458	6.17%	Defeated N	Justice Party
2017		27,229	0.08%	Defeated N	People's United Party

Legislative elections[]

Election	Total seats	Total votes	Share of votes	Outcome	Election leader	Party name
1950	2 / 210	89,413	1.3%	new 2 seats; minority	Jo So-ang
1960	4 / 233	541,021	6.0%	new 4 seats; minority
1960	1 / 233	57,965	0.6%	new 1 seats; minority
1967	1 / 175	249,561	2.3%	new 1 seats; minority
1967	0 / 175	104,975	1.0%	new 0 seats; minority		Unified Socialist Party
1971	0 / 204	59,359	0.5%	1 seats; minority
1971	0 / 204	97,398	0.9%	0 seats; minority		Unified Socialist Party

1981	0 / 276	676,921	4.2%	new 2 seats; minority
	2 / 276	524,361	3.2%	new 2 seats; minority
	0 / 276	122,778	0.7%	new 0 seats; minority
1985	1 / 276	288,863	1.4%	new 1 seats; minority
1988	0 / 299	65,650	0.3%	new 0 seats; minority
	1 / 299	251,236	1.3%	new 0 seats; minority		Hankyoreh Democratic Party
	1 / 299	3,267	0.0%	new 0 seats; minority

1992	0 / 229	319,041	1.5%	new 0 seats; minority		People's Party
2000	0 / 273	223,261	1.2%	new 0 seats; minority	Kwon Young-ghil	Democratic Labor Party
2000	0 / 273	125,082	0.7%	new 0 seats; minority		Youth Progressive Party
2004	10 / 299	2,774,061	13.0%	10 seats; minority	Kwon Young-ghil	Democratic Labor Party
2004	0 / 299	47,311	0.22%	0 seats; minority		Socialist Party
2008	5 / 299	973,445	5.68%	5 seats; minority		Democratic Labor Party
	0 / 299	504,466	2.94%	new 0 seats; minority	Roh Hoe-chan Sim Sang-jung	New Progressive Party
	0 / 299	35,496	0.20%	0 seats; minority		Korea Socialist Party
2012	13 / 300	2,198,405	10.3%	new 13 seats; minority	Lee Jung-hee	Unified Progressive Party
2012	0 / 300	243,065	1.13%	0 seats; minority	Hong Sehwa	New Progressive Party
2016	0 / 300	91,705	0.38%	0 seats; minority	Koo Kyo-hyun	Labor Party
	6 / 300	1,719,891	7.23%	new 6 seats; minority	Sim Sang-jung	Justice Party
	0 / 300	145,624	0.61%	0 seats; minority		People's United Party
2020	6 / 300	2,697,956	9.7%	6 seats; minority	Sim Sang-jung	Justice Party
	0 / 300	295,612	1.06%	new 0 seats; minority	Kim Jong-hoon	Minjung Party
	0 / 300	34,272	0.12%	0 seats; minority	Koo Kyo-hyun	Labor Party

Local elections[]

Election	Metropolitan mayor/Governor	Provincial legislature	Municipal mayor	Municipal legislature	Party name
3rd (2002)	0 / 16	11 / 682	2 / 232	N/A	Democratic Labor Party
4th (2006)	0 / 16	15 / 733	0 / 230	66 / 2,888	Democratic Labor Party
5th (2010)	0 / 16	24 / 761	3 / 228	115 / 2,888	Democratic Labor Party
5th (2010)	0 / 16	3 / 761	0 / 228	22 / 2,888	New Progressive Party
6th (2014)	0 / 17	3 / 789	0 / 226	34 / 2,898	Unified Progressive Party
	0 / 17	1 / 789	0 / 226	6 / 2,898	Labor Party
	0 / 17	0 / 789	0 / 226	11 / 2,898	Justice Party
7th (2018)	0 / 17	0 / 824	0 / 226	0 / 2,927	Labor Party
7th (2018)	0 / 17	11 / 824	0 / 226	26 / 2,927	Justice Party

Notes[]

^ Until the 1970s, socialism (in a narrow sense) was not popular among the leftist democratization movement forces in South Korea, and Rawls-style modern liberalism became more popular than that. (Until the 1970s, the United States was recognized by South Korean leftists as a similar image of a guardian of liberal democracy against far-right military dictatorships.)^[5]

References[]

^ 현연, 조. 2019. 한국 진보 정당 운동사. 후마니타스. pp. 134-134, 141-142
^ 현연, 조. 2019. 한국 진보 정당 운동사. 후마니타스. pp. 198-199, 221-222
^ "대통령 권력욕 꺾은 뒤 총선, 진보는 왜 참패했나". Pressian (in Korean). July 4, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
^ "김종인, 광주 찾아 5.18단체들에 '국보위 전력' 직접 사과". Views & News (in Korean). July 4, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
^ Choi Chi-won , eds. (2013). Understanding Social Justice in the History of Idea of Korean Democratization Movement Memory of Words of the Deads & Those Who Have Been Smashed. KCI dissertation.
^ ^a ^b 강만길 (Kang Man-gil), ed. (1989). 80년대 사회 운동 논쟁: 월간 사회 와 사상 창간 1주년 기념 전권 특별 기획. 한길사.
^ "'NL-PD' 해묵은 갈등이 결국 진보당 발목 잡았다". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). June 4, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
^ "NL·PD 갈등 30년···PD계열 조국에 음모론도 등장". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). July 4, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
^ Jesús Velasco (July 4, 2019). American Presidential Elections in a Comparative Perspective: The World Is Watching. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 154. ISBN 978-1498557580.
^ "신좌파의 진화는 이제 시작된다". Sisa IN (in Korean). January 9, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
^ ""조국 비판 전혀 안 한 사람들" ·· 연합정당 동참". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). March 18, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "노회찬, 심상정, 유시민 통합진보당 탈당: 민노당 전 최고위원, 지방의원, 참여계 당원 3000여명도 '탈당 러시'" [Roh Hoe-chan, Sim Sang-jung, and Yoo Si-min left the Unified Progressive Party: About 3,000 former supreme council members, local councilors, and participating members of the DLP are also leaving the party.]. 프레시안. September 13, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
^ Yonhap News Agency, December 19, 2014, [1], "...South Korea's Constitutional Court on Friday ordered the dissolution of a pro-North Korean minor opposition party..."
^ "자기 생각 말하는 게 뭐 어때서…'좌효리'에게 박수!" [What's wrong with saying what me think? ... Applause to "Leftist Hyori"!]. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). December 31, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2021.

[6] Until the 1970s, socialism (in a narrow sense) was not popular among the leftist democratization movement forces in South Korea, and Rawls-style modern liberalism became more popular than that. (Until the 1970s, the United States was recognized by South Korean leftists as a similar image of a guardian of liberal democracy against far-right military dictatorships.)^[5]

[1] 현연, 조. 2019. 한국 진보 정당 운동사. 후마니타스. pp. 134-134, 141-142

[2] 현연, 조. 2019. 한국 진보 정당 운동사. 후마니타스. pp. 198-199, 221-222

[3] "대통령 권력욕 꺾은 뒤 총선, 진보는 왜 참패했나". Pressian (in Korean). July 4, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2021.

[4] "김종인, 광주 찾아 5.18단체들에 '국보위 전력' 직접 사과". Views & News (in Korean). July 4, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2021.

[5] Choi Chi-won , eds. (2013). Understanding Social Justice in the History of Idea of Korean Democratization Movement Memory of Words of the Deads & Those Who Have Been Smashed. KCI dissertation.

[80년대_사회_운동_논쟁:_월간_사회_와_사상_창간_1주년_기념-7] 강만길 (Kang Man-gil), ed. (1989). 80년대 사회 운동 논쟁: 월간 사회 와 사상 창간 1주년 기념 전권 특별 기획. 한길사.

[8] "'NL-PD' 해묵은 갈등이 결국 진보당 발목 잡았다". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). June 4, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2021.

[9] "NL·PD 갈등 30년···PD계열 조국에 음모론도 등장". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). July 4, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2021.

[10] Jesús Velasco (July 4, 2019). American Presidential Elections in a Comparative Perspective: The World Is Watching. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 154. ISBN 978-1498557580.

[11] "신좌파의 진화는 이제 시작된다". Sisa IN (in Korean). January 9, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2021.

[12] ""조국 비판 전혀 안 한 사람들" ·· 연합정당 동참". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). March 18, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2021.

[유시민-13] "노회찬, 심상정, 유시민 통합진보당 탈당: 민노당 전 최고위원, 지방의원, 참여계 당원 3000여명도 '탈당 러시'" [Roh Hoe-chan, Sim Sang-jung, and Yoo Si-min left the Unified Progressive Party: About 3,000 former supreme council members, local councilors, and participating members of the DLP are also leaving the party.]. 프레시안. September 13, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2021.

[Yonhap-14] Yonhap News Agency, December 19, 2014, [1], "...South Korea's Constitutional Court on Friday ordered the dissolution of a pro-North Korean minor opposition party..."

[15] "자기 생각 말하는 게 뭐 어때서…'좌효리'에게 박수!" [What's wrong with saying what me think? ... Applause to "Leftist Hyori"!]. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). December 31, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[note 1]

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[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

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