The Progressive Party (), known as the Minjung Party () until June 2020, is a left-wing progressive and nationalist political party in South Korea. The party was formed by the merger of the New People's Party and People's United Party on 15 October 2017.
History
The party initially had two members in the National Assembly, both from Ulsan, but was reduced to one on 22 December 2017 when the supreme court convicted Yoon Jong-oe for breaking the campaign law.
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.
In August 2019, the party held events related to nationwide protests against Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and boycott against Japanese products.
In January 2020, the Minjung Party surveyed at 1.5% approval rating ahead of parliamentary elections.
The party lost its remaining seat in the 2020 legislative election.
The Minjung Party tried to participate in the Platform Party, a proportional party of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). However, the Democratic Party of Korea refused to join forces with the Minjung Party.
In June 2020, the party renamed itself from the Minjung Party to the Progressive Party.
Some members of the Progressive Party were investigated for planning anti-American and anti-government activities by contacting North Korean spies and receiving orders from North Korea. The Progressive Party protested that it was a crackdown on progressive camps. Some media outlets, such as the liberal Kyunghyang Shinmun, expressed concerns through editorials that the (right-wing Yoon Suk-yeol) government was pressuring labor unions and civic groups, as well as creating a public security state through counterintelligence investigations.
In the by-election held on 5 April 2023, the Progressive Party secured one seat and became a parliamentary party. Kang Seong-hee was elected in Jeonju B district, which was the dominant area of the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party of Korea does not run candidates in by-elections if the Democratic politician was removed from office due to breaking the law. Former Jeonju B Parliamentarian, Lee Sang-jik, was arrested and removed from Parliament 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 entry into Parliament drew intense criticism from right-wing conservative media. In particular, the Chosun Ilbo criticized in articles and editorials that some of the members of the Progressive Party were suspected of being pro-North Korea Espionage, saying that they were pro-North Korea, saying that they were the successors of the Unified Progressive Party.
Meanwhile, liberal/progressive media such as the Hankyoreh positively evaluated the Progressive Party's election. It was evaluated that the candidate was able to be elected thanks to the color theory of the independent candidate from the Democratic Party of Korea at the end.
Political positions
Although the party has never officially put forward socialism or anti-capitalism, it is classified by some media outlets as "far-left" () in the context of South Korean politics. The Progressive Party has "progressivism" as its main ideology rather than "socialism".
This party opposes restricting the labor of senior citizens over 60. This is because South Korea is not a European welfare state, so there is a livelihood problem for the elderly. Some socialists in South Korea consider it a "liberal" party and not "left-wing" party.
This party takes a minjokjuui () stance toward North Korea and a civic nationalist stance toward immigrants and naturalized citizens. This party support immigrant rights and multiculturalism at the same time. They believe that minjokjuui is non-racism ideology because it is a "resistant" politics, and that it is possible to coexist with multiculturalism. According to them, kukkajuui () advocated by the conservative camp is pro-Japanese colonialism ("國家主義") in the past and pro-American colonialism in the present.
The Progressive Party strongly supports direct democracy so that Minjung can actively participate in politics, and is also evaluated as "radical" or "radical-left".