The Liberal Unification Party, also translated as the Liberty Unification Party (), is a
far-right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
,
evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
political party in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
established in 2016. Representatives of a range of Christian organizations, including the evangelical
Christian Council of Korea and the
Communion of Churches in Korea, attended the party's founding convention.
The party has changed its name multiple times. The party was founded in 2016 as the Christian Liberty Party (), and later added "unification" to its name in 2020, renaming to Christian Liberty Unification Party (). In 2021, the party took on the name National Revolutionary Party. In 2022, the party came to its current name, Liberty Unification Party.
Party history
Legislative elections
The party had one representative in the 19th
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
, Lee Yun-seok, formerly a member of the
Minjoo Party of Korea
The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK or DP; , ) is a Liberalism, liberal list of political parties in South Korea, political party in South Korea. The DPK and its rival, the People Power Party (South Korea), People Power Party (PPP), form the two ...
. Announcing his defection to the new party, Lee stated that the Korean church was being threatened by the intrusion of
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
and
Islamic culture
Islamic cultures or Muslim cultures refers to the historic cultural practices that developed among the various peoples living in the Muslim world. These practices, while not always religious in nature, are generally influenced by aspects of Islam ...
. The party also promotes the restoration of laws against adultery. In a party advertisement for the
2016 parliamentary elections, actress Seo Jung-hee stated that "the revival of adultery law is a quintessential issue", and that voters should "support
heCLP to protect our families from homosexuality and Muslims." While campaigning during the 20th session of the National Assembly, the CLUP issued leaflets distributed to Korean households that made
Islamophobic statements, claiming that Muslims in Korea will make Korea a "terrorist state", that Muslims will rape Korean women, and that they pose a security threat to the nation.
The CLUP was represented in the
20th Session of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
with one MP:
Lee Eun-Jae
Lee may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film
* ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film
* ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist
* ''L ...
. Lee Eun-Jae is a former parliamentarian in the 18th and 20th Session. In 2008 18th National Assembly election, she was elected as a proportional representative of the Grand National Party. During her time, she was estranged from the ruling conservative party for physically assaulting
Unified Progressive Party MP
Lee Jung-Hee. On March 23, 2020, Lee Eun-Jae left the main conservative party and became the first parliamentarian for the CLUP. However, she was swiftly kicked out because it was found out that Lee is actually Buddhist. Lee then worked for the
Korea Economic Party () and is no longer a member of parliament, losing the
2020 South Korean legislative election
Legislative elections were held in South Korea on 15 April 2020. All 300 members of the National Assembly were elected, 253 from first-past-the-post constituencies and 47 from proportional party lists. They were the first elections held under ...
.
Lee Yun-seok and Lee Eun-jae only had brief stints with the Party, both leaving the Party within six months and never representing the CLUP in an election campaign.
The Liberty Unification Party was once again represented in Parliament after former
People Power lawmaker
Hwangbo Seung-hee joined the Party on 8 March 2024. Hwangbo contested the
April 2024 Parliament election as a proportional representative candidate for the Party, but lost her seat.
Election results
Legislature
Logos
기독자유당 로고.svg, Christian Liberal Party
기독자유통일당.svg, Christian Liberty Unification Party
국민혁명당 로고.svg, National Revolutionary Party
References
{{South Korean political parties
2016 establishments in South Korea
Anti-Islam political parties in South Korea
Anti-Islam sentiment in South Korea
Christian political parties
Conservative parties in South Korea
Evangelical Christianity and politics
Evangelicalism in South Korea
Far-right political parties in South Korea
Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in South Korea
Political parties established in 2016
Political parties in South Korea
Protestant political parties
Right-wing populism in South Korea