The Korean National Party is a defunct Korean political party in existence from 1948 until 1983, when it dissolved after its candidate Chun Doo-hwan was defeated in the 1982 Presidential election and was reformed into the Democratic Liberal Party. 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. After Pak's death in 1973 a few months into the first of his constitutionally mandated five-year term, the Party backed Song Yo Chan as President from July 1973 until February 1978, when he was constitutionally mandated to step aside. He was succeeded by Party Treasurer and Minister of the Int