Grand National Party
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| 한나라당 Hannara-dang Grand National Party |
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| President | Park Hee-tae |
| Secretary General | Hwang Woo-yea |
| Assembly Leader | Hong Joon-pyo |
| Founded | November 21, 1997 |
| Headquarters | Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul |
| Political ideology | Conservatism Free trade |
| International affiliation | International Democrat Union |
| Color(s) | Blue |
| Number of Representatives | 172 / 299 |
| Website | hannara.or.kr |
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The Grand National Party is a conservative political party in South Korea. Its Korean name, Hannara, literally means the "Korean National Party." The GNP currently holds a majority of seats in the 18th Assembly, lasting from 2008 to 2012.
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[edit] History
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The party is the descendant of various previous parties. Its earliest ancestor was the Democratic Republican Party under the military rule of Park Chung-hee in 1963 . Upon Park's death and at the beginning of the rule of Chun Doo-hwan in 1980, it was reconstituted and renamed as the Democratic Justice Party. In 1988 party member Roh Tae-woo became the country's first democratically elected leader, and introduced a wide range of reforms including a democratic, multi-party system, and a new constitution. The party was renamed in 1993, during the presidency of Kim Young-sam, with the merger of other parties to form the Democratic Liberal Party (Minju Jayudang). It was renamed the New Korea Party (Sinhangukdang) in 1995, and then became the Grand National Party in November 1997 following its merger with the smaller Democratic Party.[citation needed] 3 months later, with the election of Kim Dae-jung of the Centrist Reformists Democratic Party, as president, the party's dominance came to an end, beginning its first ever period in opposition which would last 9 years.
Following the 2000 parliamentary elections it was the single largest political party, with 54% of the vote and 147 seats out of 271. However, its former leader Lee Hoi-chang lost twice in the presidential election (in 1997 and 2002) following a series of scandals.[citation needed]
The party was defeated in the parliamentary election in 2004 following the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun, gaining only 121 seats out of 299. The defeat reflected public disapproval of the impeachment which was instigated by the party. It was the first time in its history that the party or its predecessors had not won the most seats. It gained back six seats in by-elections, bringing it to 127 seats as of October 28, 2005.[citation needed]
[edit] Current status
On December 19, 2007, the GNP's candidate Lee Myung-bak won the presidential election [1] ending the party's period in opposition.
In the April 2008 general election, the GNP secured a majority of 153 seats out of 299 and gained power in the administration and the parliament as well as most local governments.[citation needed]
On the performance of President Lee Myung-bak and of Grand National Party, 25.4 percent of the population of South Korea recently answered "good" and 67.3 percent "bad" according to a poll by Donga Ilbo conducted in August 2008.[2] Poll numbers for the opposition, however, were even lower.
The makeup of the Grand National Party members at present is diverse in provincial origin and political thought.[original research?] Former party head and 2007 presidential candidate Park Geun-hye is the daughter of former Dictator-President Park Chung-hee who ruled from 1963 to 1979. Although Representative Won Hee-ryeong and Hong Jun-pyo ran for the party primary as reform candidates, former Seoul mayor and official presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak gained more support (about 40%) from the Korean public.
[edit] Policy
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The GNP supports free trade and entrepreneurship, neoliberal economic policies, lower taxes, and lower social welfare spending. The GNP also favours maintaining strong ties with the United States and Japan and a stricter stance on North Korea.
The party's conservative, pro-American stance often makes it the target of criticism by North Korea's state-controlled media.
[edit] Presidents of GNP
- Cho Sun (November 21, 1997 - November 28, 1998)
- Lee Han-dong (November 29, 1998 - August 30, 1998) (acting)
- Lee Hoi-chang (August 31, 1998 - May 12, 2002)
- Park Kwan-yong (May 13, 2002 - May 14, 2002) (acting)
- Seo Cheong-won (May 14, 2002 - May 25, 2003)
- Choi Byeong-yul (May 26, 2003 - March 22, 2004)
- Park Geun-hye (March 23, 2004 - July 10, 2006)
- Kang Jae-sup (July 11, 2006 – July 3, 2008)
- Park Hee-tae (July 4, 2008 - Incumbent)
[edit] See also
- Politics of South Korea
- List of political parties in South Korea
- List of political parties
- List of Korea-related topics
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