Advancement Unification Party

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{{Infobox political party

| native_name = 선진통일당

| logo = 선진통일당 로고.svg

| leader =

| chairman =

| president = Lee In-je

| secretary =

| spokesperson =

| leader1_title = Secretary general

| leader1_name =

| leader2_title = Assembly leader

| leader2_name = Kim Nak-seong

| split = Hannara Party

| foundation = {{start date|df=yes|2008|2|1}}

| dissolution = {{end date|df=yes|2012|10|25}}

| merged = Saenuri Party

| headquarters = 14-14 Yongsan Building, Yeoeuido-dong Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul

| youth_wing =

| membership_year =

| membership =

| ideology = {{ublist|class = nowrap

| Conservatism (South Korean)

| Regionalism

}}

| national = Advancement and Creation Association {{small|(2008–2009)}}

| international =

| colours = Dark Blue

| website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20100715210859/http://www.jayou.or.kr/ Website] (archived)

| country = South Korea

| colorcode = {{party color|Liberty Forward Party}}

}}

{{Infobox Korean name/auto

|hangul=^선진_통일당

|hanja=先進統一黨

|othername1=Liberty Forward Party (formerly)

|hangul1=^자유_선진당

|hanja1=自由先進黨

}}

Advancement Unification Party (AUP; {{korean|hangul=선진통일당}}), formerly known as Liberty Forward Party, was a conservative political party in South Korea. This party was created by Lee Hoi Chang, the presidential candidate who lost 2007 presidential elections. On 12 February 2008, the party merged with the People First Party.

The party was absorbed by Saenuri Party on 16 November 2012.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

Human rights activism

In February–March 2012, just before the scheduled national elections, Liberty Forward Party representative{{citation needed|date=August 2012}} Park Sun-young became active in the "Save My Friend" campaign, a series of protests protesting China's policy of forcibly repatriating North Korean refugees;Andrew Salmon {{Cite web |title=Blindness to N. Koreans' plight|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/07/351_106282.html |date=5 March 2012 |access-date=3 July 2012 |work=The Korea Times}} she went on hunger strike in front of the Chinese embassy in Seoul and was hospitalized after fainting; once she recovered she resumed her efforts to raise awareness about North Korean human rights issues.{{cite news |url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2012/03/02/5/0301000000AEN20120302008551315F.HTML |title=Opposition lawmaker taken to hospital during hunger strike|date=2 March 2012 |access-date=3 July 2012 |work=Yonhap News Agency }} In April, during a speech at an event hosted by the Korean-American Freedom League, Park criticized the Catholic Association for Peace and Justice, questioning its silence on the plight of North Korean refugees and arguing that the Left's anti-Americanism was distracting from much more serious issues: "Defectors) are ruthlessly being killed, so how can you remain completely silent? In the Republic of Korea, there is a wildfire anti-American movement, but they never make a single critical statement against China."{{cite news |url=http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=060000&biid=2012041372478|title=S.Korean lawmaker blasts Catholic ass'n over NK defectors |date=13 April 2012 |access-date=3 July 2012 |work=Dong-a }}

2012 election

File:자유선진당 로고.svg

File:Liberty Forward Party Building.jpg

In the 2012 National Assembly election the party lost all but five of its 18 seats, declining to the fourth position, well behind the left-leaning Unified Progressive Party (which gained seats). Party leader Sim Dae-pyung announced his resignation after the party's poor performance.[http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2012/04/12/33/0301000000AEN20120412004100315F.HTML Yonhap News Agency. "Ruling party leader pledges new beginning after election win" 12 April 2012]

Electoral results

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! rowspan="2" \| Election ! rowspan="2" \| Leader ! colspan="4" \| Constituency ! colspan="4" \| Party list ! colspan="2" \| Seats ! rowspan="2" \| Position ! rowspan="2" \| Status
Votes ! % ! Seats ! +/- ! Votes ! % ! Seats ! +/- ! No. ! +/–
2008 \| rowspan="2" \| Lee Hoi-chang \| 984,751 \| 5.72 \| {{Composition bar\|14\|245\|hex={{party color\|Liberty Forward Party}}}} \| new \| 1,173,463 \| 6.85 \| {{Composition bar\|4\|54\|hex={{party color\|Liberty Forward Party}}}} \| new \| {{Composition bar\|18\|299\|hex={{party color\|Liberty Forward Party}}}} \| new \| rowspan="2" \| 4th \| rowspan="2" {{No2\|Opposition}}
2012 \| 474,001 \| 2.20 \| {{Composition bar\|3\|246\|hex={{party color\|Liberty Forward Party}}}} \| {{decrease}} 11 \| 690,754 \| 3.24 \| {{Composition bar\|2\|54\|hex={{party color\|Liberty Forward Party}}}} \| {{decrease}} 2 \| {{Composition bar\|5\|300\|hex={{party color\|Liberty Forward Party}}}} \| {{decrease}} 13

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! rowspan="2" | Election

! rowspan="2" | Leader

! colspan="4" | Constituency

! colspan="4" | Party list

! colspan="2" | Seats

! rowspan="2" | Position

! rowspan="2" | Status

Votes

! %

! Seats

! +/-