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Democracy in South Korea

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1. Prologue

10th May 1948
The first general election in Korean history
17th July 1948
Promulgation of South Korea’s first constitution
15th August, establishment of the government of in the Republic of
Korea
So it was that in just three years, democratic institutions were
introduced, a democratic republic of sovereign citizens formed.

But, after millennia of dynastic rule, 35 years of Japanese colonialism,
with no experience of popular sovereignty, Korean democracy was born
imperfect.
Constitutional governance was interrupted by military coup, and the
people’s freedoms
suppressed for long periods.
However, in spite of the tumultuous turns, Korea has progressed and
achieved democracy.

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2. The emergence of authoritarianism

Power was initially centred on the president, but the National Assembly selected the president, so there were elements of a parliamentary system. Syngman Rhee was selected as the first president.
Very popular with the people, in July 1952, Rhee succeeded in forcing the National Assembly to amend the constitution, creating a directly elected presidency and enabling his re-election.

After the Korean War, as anti-communist sentiment reached its apex,
South Korean politics became an entirely right-wing, conservative affair.
In 1954, Rhee again had the constitution amended, to remove term limits,
seeking to make himself president for life.

However, democracy’s successes were all too apparent.
Ruling and opposition parties, party politics, emerged,
Elections came to function as an expression of the popular will,
and a generation who had been educated in the values of liberty, equality and popular sovereignty emerged.
Such forces were behind the 19th April revolution.

The presidential elections of 15th March 1960 came with an obvious campaign of mass rigging to ensure that the ruling Liberal Party vice presidential candidate, Lee Gi-bung, was elected.
Popular protests against the result reached a climax on 19thApril. The indiscriminate fire of the police on protestors resulted in at least 100 deaths.
Due to popular resistance, US pressure and the refusal of the military to intervene, Rhee was forced to resign.

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3. Military Coup, the emergence of a new ruling group

With Rhee’s resignation, the opposition, led by the Democratic Party, introduced a fully fledged parliamentary system. With Yun Po-son as president and Chang Myon as prime minister, the Democratic Party formed a government, but the new ruling party split into two groups, and society plunged into yet more chaos amid the rising demands of every social group.

Seizing the opportunity,
A military clique, which included Park Chung-hee, took power in a military coup on 16thMay 1961.
The military junta ordered social chaos, while developing the economy.
Through elections, they sought to reinvent themselves as a civilian government. The power structure was transformed from a parliamentary system to a directly elected presidential system.

In October 1963, Park Chung-hee beat Yun Po-son, very narrowly in the presidential election.
So it was that democratic party politics and representative institutions of government were restored.
Park Chung-hee’s government, with a weak base of support, normalized relations with Japan, sparking crisis. But the military was mobilized, and opposition forces suppressed.

From around 1965, economic development plans began to bear fruit,
and Park easily won re-election in 1967.
His desire for continued power led to a three-term amendment.
And in 1971, he successfully fended off a challenge from Kim Dae-jung, winning a third term.

But in the late 1960s and early 1970s, amid a national security crisis, Park Chung-hee clung to power, to build an independent national defence and strong economy.
In October 1972, he mobilized the military, dissolved parliament and suspended constitutional government. Subsequently, he introduced a new system of government, the Yushin system, by which authority would be concentrated in the office of a indirectly elected president not subject to term limits.

Using the trappings conferred on his new office, Park proceeded to push through a heavy chemical industrialization policy, achieving rapid economic growth. At the same time, opposition controlled with an iron first, those who demanded Yushin’s reform were punished under emergency measures, while such opposition could not be discussed by the media.
However, in the December 1978 National Assembly elections, the opposition got more votes than the ruling part. Riding a wave of anti-Yushin sentiment, Kim Young-sam formed an openly anti-Yushin party. The ruling group fractured in discord over how to deal with this movement, and Park Chung-hee was assassinated by his own spy chief, Kim Jae-gyu.

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4. A new military group, the extension of authoritarianism

The people had great hopes and expectations for a coming democratization, but in December 1979, military hardliners again rose in a coup d’état, a dark political situation, seemingly without prior portent.
The following year, a Seoul spring bloomed, with workers rising in protest to demand basic welfare, and students demanding democracy.
The new ruling junta responded, on 17th May, by dissolving parliament, closing all universities, and suspending the constitution. The next day, the city of Gwangju in South Jeolla province, rose in protest, with students and citizens demanding democracy. Hundreds were killed in the resulting armed suppression of protests by the military. The Gwangju Democratization Movement became the basis for the movement for democracy in the 1980s.

The ruling junta moved to consolidate their position.
Chun Doo-hwan was made president, for a single 7 year term, through indirect election.
Freedom of the press, protest, association and the three rights of workers were severely restricted.

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5. Desire for democracy, the spread of the movement for democratization

However, as time passed, the social foundations of democracy grew stronger.
The expansion of education and the fruits of economic growth created a highly educated middle class.
This was a group that understood core democratic values of freedom, equality and human rights. The technical staff of large factories and corporations, management personnel, a group of people who could not accept their right to select their own rulers being forcibly taken away.
Following Chun Doo-hwan’s assumption of power, the student movement spread.
The government sought to stabilize the situation, and adopted a policy of appeasement.
Thus, opposition politicians, students, and intellectuals became more active in the movement for democracy.
Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung formed what became the lead opposition party, and a movement to amend the constitution restoring direct election of the government began.

And then,
In 1986, a scandal erupted when it was revealed that a female university student had been sexually abused in police custody.
In 1987, it emerged that a university student, called Park Jong-cheol, was tortured to death
At last, in June 1987, normal workers, the so-called ‘necktie brigade’, joined the movement to amend the constitution, and clamber for reform reached a crescendo.

The ruling junta acceded to the demands of the people, introducing democratic reforms including a directly elected presidency, the 29th June declaration.

Soon after, a democratic institution that included provisions for a directly elected presidency was adopted with bipartisan agreement. Accepted by the electorate at a referendum, a democracy emerged.

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6. Establishing a procedural democracy, the opposition takes power

The presidential election following the constitution’s amendment resulted in the election of Roh Tae-woo, from the ruling party.
Though representing a continuity of power,
the result was significant as a reflection of the popular will.

In 1992, with the election of Kim Young-sam, a generation that spanned 30 years, in which the military had held power, drew to a close.
The rule by generals came to an end,
and in 1997, Kim Dae-jung became the first opposition candidate to be elected president.
This was the first peaceful change of regime in South Korean history.
Ten years later, in 2007, power once again switched hands, peacefully.

Since 1987, presidential elections have been held peacefully, every five years.
Power has been transferred over the political divide twice, demonstrating the consolidation of democracy in South Korea.

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7. Epilogue: Looking back and looking forward

Much time passed from 1948, when constitutional democratic institutions were introduced, before functional democracy emerged.

The forms and institutions of constitutional democracy, and the maintanence of representative institutions based upon election, meant that fully functional democracy could one day be established.

The emergence of functional democracy was a gradual, negotiated process, that ensured that society did not descend into chaos.

Now, our society must
alleviate social conflict
create stable political leadership, improve political accountability
raise the awareness and engagement of the people
and in so doing, create a more mature democracy.

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