Leader Lee Jung-hee | ||
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Founded 5 December 2011 (2011-12-05) Banned 19 December 2014 (2014-12-19) Merger of People's Participation Party, Democratic Labor Party, elements of the New Progressive Party Headquarters Noryangjin-ro 12, Solbom Building 12th floor, Dongjak-gu, Seoul Ideology Progressive democracy
Left-wing nationalism | ||
The Unified Progressive Party (UPP; Korean: 통합진보당, RR: Tonghap Jinbo-dang, Hanja: 統合進步黨) is a banned political party in South Korea. It was founded on 5 December 2011 as a merger of the Democratic Labor Party, the People's Participation Party of Rhyu Si-min, and a faction of the New Progressive Party. Until 12 May 2012 it was jointly chaired by Rhyu Si-min, Lee Jung-hee, and Sim Sang-jung.
Contents
History
The UPP has proposed an alliance with the major liberal Democratic Party, which the Democrats have rejected.
In the 2012 National Assembly election the party gained eight seats for a total of thirteen seats out of 300, advancing to the third position, well ahead of the conservative Liberty Forward Party (which lost most of its seats).
On 24 April 2012, the party provisionally voted to drop the "Unified" component of its name, and adopt the name "Progressive Party". The change is subject to a vote of the party's Central Committee on 13 May. On 3 May 2012, the party internal investigation revealed that wide-ranging irregularities occurred in selecting UPP's proportional representation candidates. UPP won six proportional representatives in the 11 April general election, but one legislator resigned amid the election scandal. All four co-leaders of the party subsequently resigned on 12 May.
The South Korean government petitioned the Constitutional Court of Korea to dissolve the UPP due to their alleged pro-North Korea views in November 2013, two months after the UPP members allegedly involved in the 2013 South Korean sabotage plot were arrested. On 19 December 2014 the Constitutional Court of Korea ruled 8-1 in favour of the dissolution. The five UPP lawmakers were also deprived of their National Assembly seats. According to Amnesty International, the UPP's ban raised "serious questions as to the authorities' commitment to freedom of expression and association".
Lee Seok-ki sabotage plot
On 5 September 2013, South Korea’s intelligence agency, NIS, accused UPP lawmaker Lee Seok-ki of plotting a pro-North Korean rebellion. The case triggered a political and media firestorm in a nation where even praising the North can be considered a crime. He allegedly led a May 2013 meeting, comprised partly of UPP members, in which reference was made to the prospect of attacking South Korean infrastructure in the event that recently heightened tensions between the Koreas led to war.
South Korean prosecutors subsequently indicted Lee on charges of plotting a pro-North Korea rebellion to overthrow the government, saying his plan posed a “grave” national security threat. However, many people, including UPP lawmakers, say that while the meeting in question did take place, they had no intention of destroying Korean infrastructure.
On 17 February 2014, Lee was sentenced by a district court to 12 years in prison.