Progressive Party (South Korea, 2017)

The Progressive Party, known as the Minjung Party (, lit. People's 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 pro-North Korea espionage and that the party was the successor of the Unified Progressive Party.

Meanwhile, media outlets with a liberal/progressive stance, such as Hankyoreh, gave a positive assessment. They suggested that the party's candidate would secure a seat, largely due to the Democratic Party of Korea employing 'color theory' tactics.

In the 2024 legislative election, the party gained three seats.

Political positions
Although the party has never officially claimed to be socialist or anti-capitalist, it is classified by some media outlets as being "far-left"  or "radical left"  in the context of South Korean politics. The Progressive Party maintains "progressivism" as its official ideology rather than "socialism".

The Progressive Party opposes restricting the labor of senior citizens over the age of 60. Their justification is that, because South Korea is not a European welfare state, there is a livelihood problem for the elderly. Some socialists in South Korea consider it a liberal party, instead of a left-wing party.

In regards to North Korea, the party adopts the ideology of minjokjuui. They support both immigrant rights and multiculturalism, employing a civic nationalist stance toward immigrants and naturalized citizens. They believe that minjokjuui is a non-racist ideology because it is "anti-imperialist" and that it can coexist with multiculturalism. According to them, kukkajuui, which is advocated by the conservative camp in South Korea, has historically been linked to pro-Japanese colonialism ("國家主義"), with pro-American colonialism being more prevalent today.

The Progressive Party strongly supports direct democracy so that the Minjung could actively participate in politics.

Economic policy
The party supports the redistribution of wealth and economically progressive positions such as imposing a 90% tax rate on more than 3 billion won (roughly US$2,500,000).

In addition, the party sees chaebol very negatively and sees "decomposing the monopoly economy of transnational capital and chaebols" as its official party theory.

Foreign policy
The Progressive Party is an anti-imperialist party. The party generally shows a strong left-wing nationalism tendency and is much more conciliatory to North Korea than mainstream left-liberals in South Korea, and the party argues that the remnants of colonialism from the Japanese imperialist era should be liquidated and unequal South Korea-U.S. relations should be dismantled to establish national sovereignty.

The Progressive Party issued an anti-Japan joint statement with the Korean Social Democratic Party in 2019. The Progressive Party has the most resistant nationalist and anti-Japanese tendencies among South Korea's major political parties.

The Progressive Party opposes supplying lethal aid to Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Progressive Party accused the Yoon Suk-yeol government of engaging in diplomacy to antagonize Russia.

North Korea
They oppose all forms of sanctions against North Korea. The party's politicians say only the complete lifting of sanctions on North Korea brings peace on the Korean Peninsula. In March 2022, suspicions arose that some party officials were operating in South Korea while receiving orders from North Korea, and an investigation was launched. The Progressive Party denied that they had ever received orders.

International exchange with American left-wing figures
The Progressive Party is known as an anti-American party, but they had stated they do not oppose everything related to the US and argue that what they call "반미" means "against American imperialism".

On 13 October 2017, when the founding ceremony of the Minjung Party was held, several left-wing American political figures such as Ramsey Clark and Noam Chomsky expressed their sympathy for the cause, especially with respect to attitudes regarding Korean reunification, and policy towards North Korea. This party also contacted certain American politicians such as Jesse Jackson and Bernie Sanders in 2018 to draw support for the declaration of the end of the Korean War.

The Progressive Party has liaison support with the Green Party of the United States in policies concerning inter-Korean relations, for example the symbolic goal of a formal end to the Korean War.

Social policy
Major politicians of the Progressive Party support a volunteer military system. The party also supports women's rights, LGBT rights, youth politics and labor-oriented politics. The party actively supports the feminist movement in South Korea. Kim Jae-yeon said the reason for running for the 2022 Korean presidential election was "to become a feminist president".

Rights of immigrants and multiculturalism
The Progressive Party is a Korean nationalist party, but it shows support for multiculturalism and immigration, aiming for "resistance nationalism'" instead of "right-wing nationalism". In addition, the Progressive Party opposes neoliberalism, believing it promotes discrimination against immigrants.

The Progressive Party, along with human rights groups, accused the Moon Jae-in government's COVID-19 quarantine policy in March 2021 of being discriminatory against foreign workers.

Controversy
The merger of the New People's Party and People's United Party has been controversial, due to their status as parties that were largely a continuation of the Unified Progressive Party, which was dissolved and banned in 2014 due to purported pro-North Korean and "anti-constitutional" activity by a Constitutional Court ruling. Conservative critics of the party argued that the Minjung Party is merely an attempt to reestablish the Unified Progressive Party.

Politicians affiliated with the liberal Democratic Party of Korea criticize the Progressive Party for its anti-American activities, although both the Democratic Party of Korea and the Progressive Party support the Sunshine Policy, a dovish policy toward North Korea. Unlike the Progressive Party, the Democratic Party of Korea supports a foreign policy that is somewhat friendly to the United States.

Pro-North Korea argument
The Progressive Party has been criticized for taking a friendly stance toward North Korea. The centrist daily newspaper Hankook Ilbo called the Progressive Party 'pro-North Korea'.

In the past, the Progressive Party, together with North Korea's political party, the Korean Social Democratic Party, issued a statement criticizing Japan. The right-wing newspaper The Chosun Ilbo published an editorial urging an explanation for allegations that the party's former leader was linked to a pro-North Korea spy.

Far-left label
The Progressive Party is usually classified as far-left in South Korean media; however, the Progressive Party does not officially advocate general far-left ideologies such as anti-capitalism, communism or anarchism in the context of international politics. The Progressive Party supports the restoration of South Korea's sovereignty and full "independence" in the international community. The term "independence" here means strong support for hostile foreign policies against Japan, active reunification policy with North Korea, opposition to free trade with neighboring powers, protectionism, and establishment of completely equal diplomatic relations between countries.

The most important reason for the PP's classification as far-left in South Korean politics is anti-Americanism. The PP believes that South Korea's socioeconomic contradictions are primarily due to the United States, rather than China or Japan, and hence supports the anti-American struggle. This is a significant departure from usual liberals such as DPK and JP, who are hostile to China/Japan but somewhat favorable to the United States to offset their China/Japan hegemony. The PP, in particular, advocates dissolving the alliance between the United States and South Korea.

Democratic socialists in South Korea, including the Labor Party, criticize the Justice Party and Progressive Party as liberal, and being not progressive; however, due to the difference in diplomatic views between the two parties, the Labor Party is considered more moderate than the Progressive Party in the context of South Korean politics. Some equate the Progressive Party's line with the Justice Party and the Labor Party's centre-left social democracy.

Leaders

 * 1) Kim Jong-hoon, Kim Chang-han (co-serving; 15 October 2017 - 25 August 2018)
 * 2) Lee Sang-kyu (26 August 2018 - 20 June 2020)
 * 3) Kim Jae-yeon (20 June 2020 - 31 July 2022)
 * 4) Yoon Hee-suk (1 August 2022 - present)

Floor leaders

 * 1) Yoon Jong-o (15 October 2017 - 22 December 2017)
 * 2) Kim Jong-hoon (22 December 2017 - 29 May 2020)
 * 3) Kang Sung-hee (6 April 2023 - 29 May 2024)
 * 4) Yoon Jong-o (30 May 2024 - present)