Free Korea 21 () was a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

political party in South Korea led by Choi Jong-ho and Kim Kyung-se.

History

The party was founded as the Pro-Ban Unification Party () on 14 March 2016, in order to endorse the-then

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

for the upcoming presidential election. In 2016 election, the party nominated 6 candidates — 2 for constituencies (including the former

Cheongju Cheongju (; ) is the capital and largest list of cities in South Korea, city of North Chungcheong Province in South Korea. The 'Cheong' in the name of Chungcheong Province is the Cheong of Cheongju. History Cheongju has been an important prov ...

Mayor

Han Dae-soo Hahn Dae-soo (; born March 12, 1948) is a South Korean folk rock singer-songwriter. Early life Han Dae-soo was born in Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by populat ...

) and 4 for

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

s, in which no one was elected. Following the election defeat, it changed its name to the Pro-Ban Nation Hope Union () on 29 November. It again changed to the Party for National Hope () on 31 January 2017 shortly after Ban declared to not seek for the presidential election. On 13 April, it then adopted a new name Economic Patriots (), with electing the President of Haha Group Oh Young-guk as its presidential candidate. Oh received 6,040 votes (0.01%), making him as the candidate with the fewest votes since 1948. The party then reverted its former name on 29 October 2019 and again to the Korea Economic Party () on 2 March 2020 as a "refoundation". Prior to the 2020 election, the

Gangnam Gangnam (), sometimes referred to as the Greater Gangnam Area, is a geographic and cultural region in Seoul. While Gangnam can refer to the entire region of Seoul south of the Han River, the region is generally defined as consisting of the city ...

3rd 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 ...

, joined this party, making the party with a parliamentary representation. Lee, who was elected under the

Saenuri The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Hanna ...

(then

United Future Party The People Power Party (PPP; ) is a conservative and right-wing political party in South Korea. It is the second-largest party in the National Assembly. The PPP, along with its historic rival, the Democratic Party, make up the two large ...

) banner in 2016, joined the Christian Liberal Unification Party (CLUP) after lost at

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presel ...

. However, she also withdrew from the CLUP following her elimination due to her

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

identity. After the party did not gain any seats in the election, sources reported that Lee had already exited from the party. The party was renamed to Free Korea 21 on 14 December 2020, and voted to merge into the new on 6 March 2021.

Policies

The party describes itself as "centre-right" and critical of the

. Originally a pro- Ban party, it has renounced its pro-Ban stance in 2017.

2016 election manifesto

For the 2016 election, the party promised a constitutional amendment, from the 5-year non-renewable presidential system to the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

-style 4-year renewable presidential system with reinstating the vice presidency.

2017 presidential election manifesto

Following are a part of the manifestos of Oh Young-guk. * Building South Korea as the leading country of

Northeast Asia Northeast Asia or Northeastern Asia is a geographical Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia. Its northeastern landmass and islands are bounded by the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean. The term Northeast Asia was popularized during the 1930s by Ame ...

* Building the "Korean identity" by ethnic integration and stopping wars * Recover all credit delinquers * Pardoning all imprisoned criminals, as well as removing all criminal records 3 years from the enforcement ends (not applicable for brutal crimes i.e. murder, rape, robbery and assault)

2020 election manifesto

For the 2020 election, the party promised to overcome the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, adopting it as its "1st manifesto".

Election results

President

Legislature

References

External links

Official website
{{South Korean political parties Conservative parties in South Korea Political parties established in 2016 2016 establishments in South Korea 2021 disestablishments in South Korea Political parties disestablished in 2021