Advancement Unification Party

Advancement Unification Party
선진통일당
Seonjin Tongildang
President Lee In-je
Assembly leader Kim Nak-seong
Founded 1 February 2008 (2008-02-01)
Dissolved 25 October 2012 (2012-10-25)
Split from Grand National Party
Merged into Saenuri Party
Headquarters 14-14 Yongsan Building, Yeoeuido-dong Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
Ideology Liberal conservatism
Political position Centre-right
International affiliation None
Colours Dark Blue
Seats in the National Assembly
4 / 300
Seats within local government
172 / 3,893
Website
http://www.jayou.or.kr/
Advancement Unification Party
Hangul 선진통일당
Hanja 先進統一黨
Revised Romanization Seonjin Tongil-dang
McCune–Reischauer Sŏnchin T'ongil-tang
Liberty Forward Party (formerly)
Hangul 자유선진당
Hanja 自由先進黨
Revised Romanization Jayu Seonjin-dang
McCune–Reischauer Chayu Sŏnjin-tang

Advancement Unification Party (Hangul: 선진통일당; Hanja: 先進統一黨) or AUP formerly known as Liberty Forward Party was a conservative political party in South Korea. This party was created by Lee Hoi Chang, the presidential candidate who lost 2007 presidential elections. On 12 February 2008, the party merged with the People First Party, which got 18 seats in the 2008 Parliamentary election, making it the third-largest party in the National Assembly. The party was absorbed by Saenuri Party in November 16, 2012.

Human rights activism

In February–March 2012, just before the scheduled national elections, Liberty Forward Party representative Park Sun-young became active in the "Save My Friend" campaign, a series of protests protesting China's policy of forcibly repatriating North Korean refugees;[1] she went on hunger strike in front of the Chinese embassy in Seoul and was hospitalized after fainting; once she recovered she resumed her efforts to raise awareness about North Korean human rights issues.[2] In April, during a speech at an event hosted by the Korean-American Freedom League, Park criticized the Catholic Association for Peace and Justice, questioning its silence on the plight of North Korean refugees and arguing that the Left's anti-Americanism was distracting from much more serious issues: "Defectors) are ruthlessly being killed, so how can you remain completely silent? In the Republic of Korea, there is a wildfire anti-American movement, but they never make a single critical statement against China.”[3]

2012 election

Liberty Forward Party logo
Liberty Forward Party headquarters

In the 2012 National Assembly election the party lost all but five of its 18 seats, declining to the fourth position, well behind the left-leaning Unified Progressive Party (which gained seats). Party leader Sim Dae-pyung announced his resignation after the party's poor performance.[4]

References

  1. Andrew Salmon "Blindness to N. Koreans' plight". the Korea Times. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  2. "Opposition lawmaker taken to hospital during hunger strike". Yonhap News Agency. 2 March 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  3. "S.Korean lawmaker blasts Catholic ass`n over NK defectors". Dong-a. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  4. Yonhap News Agency. "Ruling party leader pledges new beginning after election win" April 12, 2012

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.