Korea Independence Party

History

The party was established in Shanghai by Kim Koo in 1928, uniting a faction of conservative members of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea headed by Kim. When Kim was able to return to Korea in 1945, the KIP began operating in the country. Kim was initially supportive of Syngman Rhee, but a dispute over holding separate elections in South Korea (Kim was opposed, Rhee was for) led to a split and the party did not participate in the 1948 parliamentary elections in South Korea. However, Kim was a candidate in the indirect presidential elections in July 1948, losing heavily to Rhee.

When Kim was assassinated in 1949, the party went into a sharp decline. It participated in the 1950 parliamentary elections, but received only 0.3% of the vote, failing to win a seat. It received the same vote share in the 1960 elections, again failing to win a seat. It nominated Chun Jin-han as its candidate for the May 1967 presidential elections; he finished fifth in a field of six candidates with 2.1% of the vote. Despite increasing its vote share to 2.2% in the June 1967 parliamentary elections, the party remained seatless.