South Korea's Constitutional Court on Thursday rejected a now-defunct minor opposition party's appeal to overturn an earlier ruling that ordered its disbandment.

In the first ruling of its kind, the Constitutional Court ordered the dissolution of the Unified Progressive Party in 2014, saying it posed a threat to South Korean democracy.

The party appealed the ruling in February 2016 after the country's top court acquitted one of its members of plotting a rebellion. Still, he was found guilty of encouraging the members to stage a rebellion.

The constitutional court, however, unanimously decided to reject the party's appeal, saying the criminal case cannot be a reason for a retrial. (Yonhap)