The Democratic Justice Party (DJP; ) was the ruling party of

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 ...

from 1981 to 1990.

History

Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean politician, army general and military dictator who served as the fifth president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Prior to his accession to the presidency, he was the cou ...

had become the country's de facto leader after leading a military coup in December 1979, and was elected president in his own right in August 1980. Two months after taking office, he abolished all political parties, including

Park Chung Hee Park Chung Hee (; ; November14, 1917October26, 1979) was a South Korean politician and army officer who served as the third president of South Korea from 1962 after he seized power in the May 16 coup of 1961 until Assassination of Park Chung ...

's Democratic Republican Party, which had ruled the country since 1963, and with few viable constraints on its power since Park's self-coup of 1971. A new Constitution, which inaugurated the Fifth Republic, was enacted later in October. The following January, Chun created the Democratic Justice Party, which garnered the support of most DRP lawmakers and politicians; for all intents and purposes it was the DRP under a new name. He was elected as the first president of the Fifth Republic in 1981. Although the DJP won large majorities at legislative elections in 1981 and 1985 and the system was heavily rigged in its favor, it had far less power than the DRP. The 1980 Constitution limited the president to a single seven-year term, with no possibility of reelection. Chun announced his retirement in 1987, but resisted all calls to further open up the regime. The situation changed later in 1987, when DJP presidential candidate Roh Tae-woo promised that year's presidential election would be free and democratic. Roh became the first direct elected president under a free and fair election in December 1987. In 1990, the DJP merged with Kim Young-Sam's Reunification Democratic Party and Kim Jong-pil's New Democratic Republican Party to form the Democratic Liberal Party.

Ideologies

At its founding convention held on January 15, 1981, the Democratic Justice Party presented five principles as its official founding ideology: nation, democracy, justice, welfare, and peaceful unification. The party embraced various ideologies like

National conservatism National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national and cultural identity, communitarianism and the public role of religion. It shares aspects of traditionalist conservatism and social conserv ...

, State-led developmentalism, Market liberalism,

Neoliberalism Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pe ...

Economic liberalization Economic liberalization, or economic liberalisation, is the lessening of government regulations and restrictions in an economy in exchange for greater participation by private entities. In politics, the doctrine is associated with classical liber ...

Anti-communism Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...

,Kim, Byung-kook (2008), “Defeat in victory, victory in defeat: the Korean conservatives in democratic consolidation”, Political Transitions in Dominant Party Systems: Learning to lose (Routledge): 170

Social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

and

Authoritarianism Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

.Kim, Byung-kook (2008), “Defeat in victory, victory in defeat: the Korean conservatives in democratic consolidation”, 《Political Transitions in Dominant Party Systems: Learning to lose》 (Routledge), page 170

Election results

President

Legislature

Notes

References

{{Authority control Conservative parties in South Korea Defunct political parties in South Korea National conservative parties Far-right political parties in South Korea Political parties established in 1980 Political parties disestablished in 1990 Liberty Korea Party Neoliberal parties 1980 establishments in South Korea 1990 disestablishments in South Korea Right-wing parties Right-wing politics in South Korea Anti-communist parties