Unification National Party 통일국민당 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Chung Ju-yung |
| Founded | 3 January 1992 |
| Dissolved | 8 July 1994 |
| Merged into | New Democratic Party |
| Ideology | Moderate conservatism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| Colours | Green |
| Party flag | |
 | |
| Unification National Party | |
| Hangul | 통일국민당 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 統一國民黨 |
| RR | Tongil gungmindang |
| MR | T'ongil kungmindang |
TheUnification National Party (Korean: 통일국민당) was apolitical party which was founded in 1992 byChung Ju-yung, founder ofHyundai Group.
The party was founded in January 1992 ahead of the1992 legislative election in March, for which Chung announced his candidacy. The use of the word "unification" in the party's name reflects a common theme in earlier South Korean politics to considerKorean reunification an important issue, something which has become less common today.[1] Nonetheless, Chung and his party formed primarily in reaction to the government's strict attempts to regulatechaebol conglomerates and called for economicderegulation andliberalisation.[2] The party also criticised the nascentGyeongbu high-speed railway as a government fundraising project for the upcoming election.[3] The party succeeded in winning 31 seats,[4] which was the main reason for the rulingDemocratic Justice Party's loss of an outright majority.[2]
In the1992 presidential election held in December, the UNP ran on a primarily economic agenda, criticising both theDemocratic Liberal Party (DLP) ofKim Young-sam for falling behind on economic growth as well asKim Dae-jung for being too "radical."[5] It was speculated at the time that Chung would seek to primarily win over moderately conservative voters from the DLP, particularly the upper-middle class, but his performance was below expectations, obtaining only 16.1% of the popular vote and ending up in third place behind both Kims.[6] After the election defeat, many members of the UNP defected in favour of the ruling DLP.[6]
Sometime after the election, Chung was subjected to financial investigations and, in February 1993, resigned from theNational Assembly and left the party while these investigations were ongoing. Chung was eventually sentenced to three years in prison for violating the Election Act and the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes Act. He was found guilty of diverting $62.8 million from Hyundai Group to his political campaigns, although he was not jailed due to his age.[7]
In 1994, theNew Political Reform Party merged with the Unification National Party in order to form theNew Democratic Party.
| No. | Leader | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chung Ju-yung | 8 February 1992 – 10 February 1993 |
| Acting | Park Young-rok | 11 February 1993 – 19 February 1993 |
| 2 | Kim Dong-gil | 20 February 1993 – 24 February 1993 |
| Election | Candidate | Votes | % | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Chung Ju-yung | 3,880,067 | 16.32 | Not elected |
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | Position | Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constituency | Party list | Total | ||||||
| 1992 | Chung Ju-yung | 3,574,419 | 17.37 | 24 / 237 | 7 / 62 | 31 / 299 | 3rd | Opposition |
