Justice Party (South Korea)

The Justice Party (Korean: 정의당; Hanja: 正義黨; RR: Jeonguidang) is a social-democratic political party in South Korea. It was founded on 21 October 2012 when it split from the Unified Progressive Party. The party has been placed as centre-left[14][15][16][17] to left-wing[18][19][20][21] on the political spectrum.

Not to be confused with Democratic Justice Party.

Justice Party
정의당
LeaderYeo Yeong-gug
Floor LeaderBae Jin-gyo
Secretary-GeneralShin Eon-jik
Chair of the
Policy Planning Committee		Jang Hye-young
Founded21 October 2012 (2012-10-21)
Merger ofAlliance of Labor Politics
Elements of the Labor Party
Elements of the People's Congress
Split fromUnified Progressive Party
(old-NPP and PP factions)[1][2]
Headquarters7, Gukhoe-daero 70-, Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul
Youth wingYouth Justice Party
Membership (2020)53,080[3]
IdeologySocial democracy[4]
Liberalism[5][6][7][8]
Progressivism[9][10][11]
Political positionCentre-left to left-wing
International affiliationProgressive Alliance (observer)[12][13]
Colours  Yellow
SloganLabour's Hope, Citizen's Dream
(노동의 희망, 시민의 꿈, Nodongi himang, simini kkum)
Seats in the National Assembly
6 / 300
Metropolitan mayor and Gubernatorial
0 / 17
Municipal Mayors
0 / 226
Provincial and Metropolitan Councillors
11 / 824
Municipal Councillors
24 / 2,927
Website
www.justice21.org
Justice Party
Hangul
정의당
Hanja
Revised RomanizationJeonguidang
McCune–ReischauerChŏngŭidang
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Headquarters and Seoul bureau of Justice Party (pictured in 2018)
Roh Hoe-chan (left) and Kang Gi-gap (right) at Sim Sang-jung's campaign rally on 7 May during the presidential election in 2017

History

The Progressive Justice Party changed its name to the Justice Party at the 2nd party congress on 16 July 2013.[22] At the 4th party congress on 22 November 2015, the party officially merged with the extra-parliamentary groups: Preparatory Committee for the People's Party (2015), Labor Politics Coalition (노동정치연대), Members of Labor Party, after motions to merge the party with the Justice Party failed.

After the merger, Na Gyung-che, Ex-leader of the Labor Party, and Kim Se-kyun, leader of Preparatory Committee for the People's Party, were elevated to co-leadership roles, while Sim Sang-jung remained as a standing party leader.[23] Kim Se-kyun stepped down from the co-leadership role in September 2016.

In the legislative election held in April 2016, the party increased its seat total by one with the election of Roh Hoe-chan to the Seongsan constituency in the city of Changwon. The party polled 7.2% in the party list ballot, returning a total of six legislators to the National Assembly.

In the 2017 election, Sim Sang-jung ran as the party's nominee after winning the party primary. Sim was endorsed by Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and ran a campaign focused on labor[24] and social issues. Sim received media attention for being the only candidate arguing in favor of marriage equality during the debate.[25] Sim won 6.2% of the vote, making her the most successful left-wing presidential candidate since the democratization of the country in 1987.

In July 2017, with Sim's two-year leadership term coming to an end, the party elected sitting National Assembly member Lee Jeong-mi as the new leader over Park Won-suk by 56 to 44.[26]

On 31 March 2018, the party confirmed its decision to form a parliamentary group with Party for Democracy and Peace, under the name of Members group of Peace and Justice. The parliamentary group will be officially registered on 2 April.[27] The incumbent floor leader of the party, Roh Hoe-chan was chosen to head the parliamentary group in the National Assembly. Roh Hoe-chan's abrupt passing on 23 July 2018 resulted in the automatic dissolution of the parliamentary group. Roh's death was widely mourned, attracting thousands of mourners and tributes across the South Korean political spectrum.[28] The party retained Roh's Changwon seat, beating Liberty Korea challenger in the by-election held on 13 April 2019.

In July 2019, the party elected Sim Sang-jung as the new leader. It is her second non-consecutive term as the party's leader.[29]

Political position

The Justice Party officially advocates social democracy.[30] JP rejects social conservatism and takes a socially progressive stance on feminism and LGBT rights issues.[31][6] Major JP politicians, including Jang Hye-young, criticize the Democratic Party of Korea,[32] but have a fairly favorable view of the U.S. Democratic Party style modern liberalism and Joe Biden.[33]

JP proposes economically more moderate policies than left-wing populists in DPK such as Lee Jae-myung. JP values fiscal responsibility and advocates tax increases. JP also opposes basic income. However, they are active in the issue of labor rights that left-wing populists in the DPK are not interested in.[34][35]

Ideology

Economy

The party calls for structural change of the Korean economy through change to the current Chaebol dominated economic system, democratic control of the capitalistic excess through the implementation of economic democracy and public ownership of basic utilities.[36] Pursuing an alternative form of economic system in which basic conditions for people's life is provided for everyone, equally. Where public or market economy is inefficient, the party will advocate a social economy, including cooperatives and further increasing the role of the social economy to the ones traditionally held by the market.[36] It also calls for the protection of and the increasing of labor rights and they promote unionization in the workplace, so to equalize the power balance between the capitalists and the workers.[36] The party advocates for the creation of a welfare state, drastically increasing funding in the public sector, providing universal welfare services like childcare, education, employment, housing, healthcare, and post-retirement life. The party will fund these programs through increased taxation based on the redistributive tax policy.[36]

Environment

The party calls for an end to unrestricted development, pursuing sustainable development and climate justice.[37] It is also in favor of animal welfare. It argues in favor of developing renewable energy, with sights on doing away with oil and coal altogether. The party is against nuclear energy as an alternative, and advocates closing down old nuclear power plants and ceasing further construction of the plants.[36]

Social issues

The party calls for the eradication of all forms of discrimination, advocating increased participation of the minorities in the political sphere. It further advocates pursuing gender equality in the workplace and preserving women's right to choose to have an abortion. The party stands strongly against any form of oppression based on one's sexuality or gender identity. It calls for legislation relating to hate crime to protect the human rights of minorities. It also acknowledges diverse family structures without any discrimination.[36]

Foreign relations

In the midst of the conflict between the United States and China for regional hegemony and Japanese attempts at rearmament, the party believes peace in the Korean peninsula is a paramount issue. The party rejects any form of hegemony from both sides and refuses to take a side on the issue.

North Korea

The Justice Party insists that the approach to North Korea should be approached with the values of universal human rights rather than an unconditional appeasement approach.

On 28 September 2020, Justice Party leader Sim Sang-jung expressed a critical view of the Democratic Party's conciliatory policy toward North Korea based on Korean nationalism, saying, "Some of the ruling party prioritize inter-Korean relations over the lives of our people, and this must be corrected." This critical view of North Korea, in particular, has deepened since 2020 due to conflicts with the ruling Democratic Party.[38][39]

Leadership

Leaders
  1. Roh Hoe-chan, Jo Jun-ho (co-serving; 21 October 2012 – 21 July 2013)
  2. Cheon Ho-sun (21 July 2013 – 18 July 2015)
  3. Sim Sang-jung (18 July 2015 – 11 July 2017)
    • Kim Se-kyun (co-serving; 22 November 2015 – 30 September 2016)
    • Na Gyung-che (co-serving; 22 November 2015 – 11 July 2017)
  4. Lee Jeong-mi (11 July 2017 – 13 July 2019)
  5. Sim Sang-jung (13 July 2019 – 12 October 2020)
  6. Kim Jong-cheol (12 October 2020 – 25 January 2021)[40]
  7. Kim Yun-ki (25 January 2021 - 29 January 2021) (Interim)[41]
  8. Kang Eun-mi (29 January 2021 - 23 March 2021) (Interim)[42]
  9. Yeo Yeong-gug (23 March 2021 – Present)

Floor leaders
  1. Kang Dong-won (21 October 2012 – 2 May 2013)
  2. Sim Sang-jung (13 July 2013 – 9 June 2015)
  3. Jeong Jin-hoo (9 June 2015 – 29 May 2016)
  4. Roh Hoe-chan (30 May 2016 – 23 July 2018)
  5. Yoon So-ha (23 July 2018 – 29 May 2020)[43]
  6. Bae Jin-gyo (30 May 2020 – 1 September 2020)
  7. Kang Eun-mi (9 September 2020 – present)

Election results

Presidential elections
Election Candidate Votes  % Finishing place Result
2017 Sim Sang-jung 2,017,458 6.17% 5th of 13 candidates Lost
2022 Sim Sang-jung 803,358 2.38% 3rd of 12 candidates Lost

General elections
Election leader Constituency Party list Seats +/– Status
Votes  % Votes  %
2016 Sim Sang-jung 395,357 1.6 (#4) 1,719,891 7.2 (#4)
6 / 300
 1 Opposition
2020 Sim Sang-jung 492,100 1.7 (#3) 2,697,956 9.7 (#3)
6 / 300
 0 Opposition

Local elections
Election Metropolitan mayor/Governor Provincial legislature Municipal mayor Municipal legislature Election leader
2014
0 / 17
0 / 789
0 / 226
11 / 2,898
 Cheon Ho-sun
2018
0 / 17
11 / 824
0 / 226
26 / 2,927
 Lee Jeong-mi

See also

Notes

    References
    1. "결국 두 쪽으로 갈라서는 진보당… 新당권파 "신당 창당할 것"". The Chosun Ilbo. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
    2. "통합진보당 탈당 러시 시작, 노회찬 심상정 유시민 내일 탈당". 레디앙 (Redian). 12 September 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
    3. 2019년도 정당의 활동개황 및 회계보고
    4. Miller, Owen (18 May 2017). "South Korea After Park". Jacobin. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
    5. Salmon, Andrew; Shin, Mitch (29 July 2020). "Why South Koreans kill themselves". Asia Times. Retrieved 10 March 2022. And politician Roh Hoe-chan, 61, the founder of the liberal Justice Party and known as “Mr Clean” killed himself while facing investigations into an illegal fund-raising scandal in 2018.
    6. "This South Korean Pastor 'Blessed' a Queer Festival. He's Now Being Investigated". Vice. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2021. The minor liberal Justice Party is now on its seventh attempt to pass the bill in the National Assembly. Previous attempts failed as conservative Christian groups have been lobbying against it since 2007. Lee believes that the bill’s passing is long overdue.
    7. He-rim, Jo (8 December 2021). "[Election 2022] Lee narrows gap with Yoon in poll". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 10 March 2022. In the same survey, Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate from the minor opposition People’s Party and Sim Sang-jung from the liberal Justice Party followed in the list with 3.8 percent and 3.2 percent support, respectively.
    8. "Ahn is by far the richest presidential candidate". The Korea Times. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022. Sim Sang-jeung of the minor liberal Justice Party reported the smallest amount at 1.41 billion won.
    9. "Hanwha Total's chemical leak affects 650 people in South Korea". The Straits Times. 21 May 2019. Minor progressive Justice Party leader Lee Jeong-mi said the company's decision to assign workers unfamiliar with the task to replace those who are on strike was the root cause of the leaks.
    10. Dong-hwan, Ko (27 January 2022). "[INTERVIEW] 'I will end the era of super-presidents:' Sim Sang-jung". The Korea Times. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
    11. "Lee, Sim express disapproval of 2015 comfort women deal: group". The Korea Herald. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022. Lee of the liberal Democratic Party and Sim of the progressive Justice Party stated their positions in response to questions sent last month by the group, which includes the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan.
    12. "List of Participants - Denpasar Seminar, 19-20 September 2016 - Progressive Alliance". 22 September 2016.
    13. "List of Participants - Conference in Ulaanbaatar, 25–26 May 2017 - Progressive Alliance". 18 May 2017.
    14. Lansford, Tom (25 April 2017). Political Handbook of the World 2016-2017. CQ Press. p. 827. ISBN 9781506327150.
    15. Petricic, Saša (24 September 2017). "The 'frightened dog' and the 'rocket man': Trump-Kim war of words causes rising tensions". CBC News. CBC. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
    16. "South Korea: Economic and Political Overview". Nordea Trade. Nordea. 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
    17. "Minor opposition party picks Rep. Shim Sang-jung as new chief". Yonhap News. 18 July 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
    18. Jun-tae, Ko (10 March 2022). "Justice Party candidate accepts outcome, vows to work for change". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 10 March 2022. Rep. Sim Sang-jung, the presidential candidate for the minor left-wing Justice Party, said she and her party accepted the outcome of the 20th presidential election as her share of the vote stood at 2.24 percent with 59 percent of votes counted.
    19. "'Sexism exists': S.Korea feminist presidential candidate's lonely crusade". France 24. AFP. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
    20. "Political community shocked by Seoul mayor's death". The Korea Times. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2022. Releasing a brief statement, the minor left-wing Justice Party also expressed "bewilderment" as well as condolences over Park's death.
    21. Chung, Jane (12 April 2017). "South Korea coal, nuclear power targeted for cuts by presidential candidates". Reuters. Retrieved 10 March 2022. Policy experts for two other candidates - the conservative Bareun Party’s Yoo Seong-min and the left-wing Justice Party’s Sim Sang-jung - also said they would overhaul South Korea’s coal and nuclear energy policy.
    22. 제2차 당대회(혁신당대회) 회의자료 및 결과. Justice Party (in Korean).
    23. 진보 4개 정당·단체 통합 ‘정의당’ 출범. Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). 22 November 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
    24. 심상정, '개혁ㆍ노동 대통령' 강조. Naver (in Korean). 해럴드경제. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
    25. 심상정이 꼽은 기억에 남는 순간 'TV토론 성소수자 1분 찬스 발언'. Naver (in Korean). Kyunghyang Sinmun. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
    26. 이정미 정의당 당대표 당선... '포스트 노-심 시대' 시작. Naver (in Korean). OhMyNews. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
    27. 정의당, 오늘 사상 첫 국회교섭단체 된다…전국위 최종 승인. News1 (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
    28. "회찬이형! 잘 가시오!" 노회찬 가는 길 끝까지 함께한 2천여 시민들 (in Korean). OhmyNews. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
    29. 돌아온 심상정 대표 "한국당 퇴출시킨다". OhMyNews (in Korean). 13 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
    30. "'더불어민주당 2중대'로서 정의당" [The Justice Party, which became the "second party of the Democratic Party of Korea".]. 매일노동뉴스. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021. ... 정의당은 사회적 자유주의(social liberal) 정당으로 보인다. 그런 점에서 극우 정당인 국민의힘과의 사이에는 장강이, 보수적 자유주의 정당인 더불어민주당과의 사이에는 샛강보다 훨씬 크지만 장강보다는 훨씬 작은 강이 흐른다. ... [... The Justice Party appears to be a social-liberal party. In this regard, the long River flows between the far-right People Power Party and the conservative-liberal Democratic Party, which is much larger than the short river, but much smaller than the long river flows. ...]
    31. "Moon to send orchids of congratulations to main opposition presidential candidate". The Korea Herald. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021. On Tuesday, Moon will send orchids of congratulations to Sim Sang-jeung, the candidate of the minor progressive Justice Party, Park said..
    32. "장혜영 "민주당, 진보로 평가하지 않아"" [Jang Hye-young said, "I can't evaluate the Democratic Party (of Korea) as progressive".]. The Dong-a Ilbo. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
    33. ""미국이 돌아왔다!" 장혜영의 이 발언 매우 아쉽다" ["The U.S. is back!" Jang Hye-young's remarks are very unfortunate.]. OhmyNews. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021. 장혜영 의원이 모두발언에서 한 미국 외교정책에 대한 지지의사 표명은 현실 국제관계에 대한 무지와 낭만주의가 아닌지 우려스럽다. 지금까지 미국이 인권의 이름으로 국제개입을 했을 때 인권이 성장하긴 커녕 그 나라의 인권이 역으로 후퇴한 경우가 많았기 때문이다. [Rep. Jang Hye-young's expression of support for US foreign policy is concerned about whether it is ignorance and romanticism about real international relations. This is because, until now, when the United States has intervened internationally in the name of human rights, there have been many cases where human rights in that country have retreated in reverse, rather than improving human rights.]
    34. "[인터뷰]정의당 이정미 "기본소득으론 국민 삶 문제 해결 안돼"" [[Interview] Justice Party's Lee Jungmi said, "Basic income won't solve the problem of people's lives.]. 뉴시스. 2 October 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021. 이 전 대표는 전날 서울 영등포구의 캠프 사무실에서 진행된 뉴시스와의 인터뷰에서 "이 지사가 진보적 이미지를 갖게 된 결정적 계기는 '이재명표 기본소득'이었지만 저는 기본소득에 반대하는 사람"이라며 이같이 밝혔다. [In an interview with Newsis at the camp office in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul the previous day, former CEO Lee Jeong-mi said, "The decisive reason why Governor Lee had a progressive image was 'Lee Jae-myung's Basic Income', but I am against basic income."]
    35. ""부가세 누진적 인상, 사회복지세 신설" 정의당의 보편증세 주장" ["Progressive increase in VAT, establishment of social welfare tax." Justice Party's claim for universal tax increase.]. The Hankyoreh. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021. 갈수록 늘어가는 복지 재원을 마련하기 위한 ‘증세’는 과연 가능할까? 내년 대통령 선거를 앞두고 거대 양당의 주요 대선 주자들은 겉으로는 ‘양극화 해소’를 외치면서도 증세에는 소극적 태도로 일관하고 있다. 이런 가운데 소비세와 소득세를 중심으로 한 보편증세안이 정의당 토론회에서 나왔다. [Is it possible to 'increase' to raise increasing welfare finance? Ahead of next year's presidential election, major presidential candidates from both parties are openly calling for "resolving polarization," but are consistently passive in increasing. Meanwhile, a universal tax increase plan centered on consumption and income taxes came out at the Justice Party debate.]
    36. 정의당 강령 [Justice Party platform]. Justice Party (in Korean). 23 June 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
    37. "'Sexism exists': S.Korea feminist presidential candidate's lonely crusade". France 24. AFP. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
    38. ""국민 생명이 먼저" 정의당, 북에도 할 말 하겠다는 '신노선'". The Hankyoreh. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
    39. "정의당도 요구한 對北 규탄결의안, 민주당 "北 이미 사과했다" 버티기". The Chosun Ilbo. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
    40. Resigned due to sexually assaulting Jang Hye-yeong, a Justice Party member of Parliament. http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/980497.html
    41. Resigned
    42. As Leader of Emergency Response Committee, As Leader of Emergency Response Conference Until 30 January.
    43. As Interim Floor Leader Until 21 August.
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