The Korean National Party is a defunct Korean political party in existence from 1948 until 1980, when it was dissolved following a military coup by Chun Doo-hwan that year. The KNP, known often as "the Party" in Korea, ruled Korea for the entirety of its existence with mostly token opposition and backing by a military loyal to its chief officers, most notably with President Pak Mae-Hyong as its party secretary and co-Chairman. The KNP was structured similarly to, and ideologically inspired by, the Kuomintang of neighboring China.
Pak's death in 1973 created a power struggle within the KNP, with a steady rotation of cabinet reshuffles under President Baek Du-jin and infighting within the party's Governing Committee. The "First Republic" collapsed in 1980 with a coup led by General Chun Doo-hwan, and the KNP was effectively dissolved as many of its supporters defected to Chun's new Democratic Republican Party and the new 1981 constitution ended the malapportionment and electoral quirks that had allowed the KNP to cling to power in repeated tainted elections.