Brief History
The party was formed when loyalists to president Roh Moo-hyun in the Uri Party chose to break ranks from other party members who showed lukewarm support for the administration. Some 80 out of 152 lawmakers of the Uri Party joined the new party, a conservative-liberal minority group from the Hannara Party (led by Son Hak-Gyu), and a group of progressive civil rights' group from outside South Korean politics also joined, seeking to complete political reforms.
As a result of merge with the Uri Party, this party has been ranked as the biggest political party in the legislative by 140 of 298 seats (as of January 14, 2008). After receiving a 'shocked' result at the 2007 presidential election, the delegates of its party decided to elect a new leader, with adopting a 'Papal conclave'-style system. On January 11, with more than a half delegates' vote, Son Hak-Gyu was elected to lead at the 2008 parliamentary election.
Read more about this topic: United New Democratic Party
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