Democratic Party (South Korea, 2015)
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The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK or DP; Korean: 더불어민주당, lit. 'Together Democratic Party') is a liberal political party in South Korea. The DPK and its rival, the People Power Party (PPP), form the two major political parties of South Korea. Since the 2025 presidential election, it is the ruling party, having held a majority in the National Assembly since 2020. The Democratic Party was founded as the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) on 26 March 2014 as a merger between the previous Democratic Party and the preparatory committee of the New Political Vision Party (NPVP) led by Ahn Cheol-soo. The party changed its name to the current name on 28 December 2015. In the 2016 legislative election, the party won a plurality of seats in the National Assembly, becoming the largest party in the National Assembly. In 2017, the Democratic Party presidential candidate Moon Jae-in was elected as the president of South Korea. In 2020, the party won an absolute majority of seats in the National Assembly. In 2022, the Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae Myung lost the election to PPP candidate Yoon Suk Yeol. Later that year, the Democratic Party, Open Democratic Party, and New Wave merged to form a big tent party. The party retained its majority in the 2024 legislative election. In 2025, after the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol, the Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae Myung was elected as the president of South Korea. The party is seen as liberal and centre to centre-left. It has liberal, centrist and conservative factions; Lee Jae Myung is considered belonging to the liberal faction. It is seen as socially liberal, though espousing some socially conservative positions. It generally supports market economics, though also favoring an increase in welfare spending and economic interventionism. It favors maintaining South Korea's military alliance with the United States, though also favoring autonomy. The party also favors friendlier relations with China and Russia, as well as taking a more critical approach towards Japan. Regarding North Korea, the Democratic Party favors peaceful relations and greater engagement.