The ‘democratic republic’ specified in Article 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea is based on parliamentary democracy and party politics. In Korea's political history, the Democratic Party and its successor party are the parties with the longest history and strong vitality, and are the parties at the core of party politics, an important axis of democracy. Since its establishment in 1955, the Democratic Party has performed its political role up to the present through the succession of political connections, factions, symbols and ideologies.
This book historically reviews the meaning and role of the Democratic Party and successor parties in Korean politics from the founding of the Democratic Party in 1955 to the current New Politics Alliance for Democracy, and critically examines its achievements. In addition, a new approach to meaningfully analyze Korean political history and political party history is also sought through the theoretical tool of the succession party.