The Liberal Party () was a far-right corporatistMoon, Chung-in, and Sang-young Rhyu. "'Overdeveloped' State and the Political Economy of Development in the 1950s: A Reinterpretation". Asian Perspective, vol. 23, no. 1, Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1999, pp. 179–203. and anti-communist political party in South Korea established in 1951 by Syngman Rhee and dissolved in 1970.
History
As the 1952 presidential elections neared, Rhee made public his intention to organize a party during his August 15 Speech in 1951.Joong-Seok Seo, The Korean War and Rise in Power of the Rhee Syngman Regime, History Review《역사비평》, 9 (Summer 1990) p.141 Rhee called Lee Beom-seok, then the ambassador in China, and charged him with creating the Liberal Party. Lee used the strong organizational base of "Korean National Youth Association" () as a starting point and incorporated the major five organizations: "National Association for the Rapid Realisation of Korean Independence" (), "Korean Federation of Labor" (), "Peasant Federation" (), and "Korean Council of Wives" () as temporary sub-organizations under the Liberal Party.
Ideology Although the Liberal Party name is used, it is not the traditional definition as used in the West. For example, the Liberal Party advocated for Ilminism and viewed Western-style liberalism and individualism negatively,Hong Tai-young, eds. (2015). 'Excessive Nation' and 'Indiscoverable Individual': 'One-people principle' and particularity of Korean nationalism. KCI dissertation. instead suggesting the need for "Korean-style liberal democracy". One of the main values of Ilminism was the Hongik Ingan, based on traditional conservatism, and the , which is said to be similar to Hitlerjugend. To this day, liberal democracy () in South Korea is still used in a similar sense to "anti-communist system" or "free world against communism" by the conservative camp of South Korea, rather than the same meaning as Western liberal democracy.
As its national values during its reign, the Liberal Party put forward "anti-communist and anti-Japanese" () sentiments. At the same time, the Liberal Party showed a very pro-American tendency, so it was closer to right-wing populism than resistance nationalism. The Liberal Party supported a discriminatory policy against hwagyo () based on Korean ethnic supremacy and anti-PRC sentiment.
Election results President Election Candidate Votes % Result 1952 Syngman Rhee 5,238,769 74.62 1956 5,046,437 69.99 March 1960 9,633,376 100
Vice President Election Candidate Votes % Result 1952 Lee Beom-seok 1,815,692 25.45 1956 Lee Ki-poong 3,805,502 44.03 March 1960 8,337,059 79.19
Legislature House of Representatives Election Leader Votes % Seats Position Status Constituency Party list Total +/– 1954 Syngman Rhee 2,756,081 36.79 new 1st 1958 3,607,092 42.07 13 1960 Cho Gyeong-gyu 249,960 2.75 125 3rd 1963 Chang Taek-sang 271,820 2.92 2 7th 1967 Lee Jae-hak 393,448 3.62 3rd
House of Councillors Election Leader Votes % Seats Position Status 1960 Cho Gyeong-gyu 653,748 6.12 2nd
Notes
References