KOREA FOCUS

Korea has achieved both economic development and democracy, a feat unprecedented in nations that experienced colonial rule. But quite disappointingly, serious malaise shrouds the nation`s political society with violent behavior prevailing in the legislature and public indignation sweeping the streets. What are the problems? Are economic development and democracy incompatible? Economic growth is a necessary condition for democracy but it is not a precondition. Fundamentally, Korean politics remains in conflict because it lacks a republican political tradition, which is regarded as the prerequisite for democratization. If Korea is to heal the current political divisions, the nation needs to develop republican patriotism and democratic public debate.

 

As of the late 20th century, Korea was a dream country for all pre-World War II colonies in the Third World and the former socialist states of the East Bloc because of its simultaneous achievement of modernization and democratization. During these early years of the 21st century, Korea is even envied by First World countries as it is escaping from the U.S.-originated global economic crisis ahead of other nations. U.S. President Barack Obama chose Korea as a role model for Africa, expressing his admiration of Korea during the G8 Summit in L`Aquila, Italy, in July 2009.

 

“Kenya`s per capita national income was bigger than Korea`s when my father left the country for the United States for study. Today, Korea is an affluent country but Kenya is still struggling with the yoke of poverty. Why is it?” Obama is quoted as saying. Obama was born in 1961 when Kenya had a larger per capita GNP than Korea`s $82. According to U.N. statistics, Korea`s per capita GNP stood at $19,296, or 24 times larger than Kenya`s $788, in 2008. Korea`s economy grew 235 times during the intervening years.

 

The East European socialist states collapsed at the end of the 1980s in a tsunami of civic uprisings. Korea`s development is known to have significantly prompted the transition of these East European countries. Watching the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics via television, the peoples of the former Soviet bloc were surprised at the modern appearance of Seoul crowded with numerous cars and high-rise buildings. They felt betrayed by their leaders who had deceived them to get them believe they were living in the socialist paradise. Their anger exploded in the following year. They sang “Hand in Hand,” the theme song of the Seoul Olympics, as if it were their revolutionary hymn. When he was asked how so many people took to the street during civic protests, Vaclav Havel, who later became the president of Czechoslovakia, said, “Because we saw Seoul.”

 

Korea surprised the world not only with its economic success. In the midst of the “third wave,” Korea installed democracy at little cost when political elites reached a compromise in 1987. Six years later, the Kim Young-sam government ended the 30-year-long authoritarian military rule and firmly established civilian control. Military influence in politics was put to an end as two former presidents with military backgrounds were imprisoned not only for corruption but also on charges of rebellion.

 

The inauguration of the Kim Dae-jung government in 1998 marked the first peaceful horizontal change of power from one party to another in the nation`s political history. After the five years of Roh Moo-hyun rule which was a continuation of Kim Dae-jung`s leftist government, another change of power took place late in 2007 with the election of conservative president Lee Myung-bak. Korea thus passed what Samuel Huntington termed the “two-turnover test” in 20 years. It signifies that political contests have become regular in Korea and the people now have strong confidence in the democratic process. It is generally recognized that the United States passed the test when the Democrats led by Andrew Jackson conceded power to the Whigs in 1840, 51 years after George Washington`s inauguration in 1789. Japan had a second turnover of power only in August 2009 with the formation of the Democratic Party government of Ichiro Hatoyama after five decades of virtually uninterrupted rule by the Liberal Democratic Party. Aside from Korea and Japan, Taiwan is the only Asian country which has passed the test.

 

Since 1987, Korea has successfully weathered recurring difficulties, including the 1997-98 Asian financial turmoil, the North Korean nuclear problem since 2002 and the recent global financial crisis. The 1987 Constitution has remained unchanged, producing five presidents and forming five legislatures under its effect thus far. All these testify the stability of Korean democracy. Still, Koreans today feel something missing in their political circumstances. Let us try to identify the causes of such dissatisfaction.

 

In March 2004, the National Assembly passed an impeachment bill against President Roh. He was accused of violating the Constitution and laws on his office`s political neutrality ahead of general elections. Political turmoil ensued as the minority ruling Uri Party labeled the impeachment as a “coup by the parliament” and Roh`s supporters staged street demonstrations. When the Constitutional Court deliberated on the impeachment as required by the Constitution, protesters argued that the court, which was not elected by the people, was not qualified to judge the president elected by the people. The court eventually reinstated the president.

 

Political chaos erupted again when in October 2004 the Constitutional Court ruled the special law on the relocation of the administrative capital unconstitutional. The ruling party, which had become the parliamentary majority in the April elections, defined the decision as a “coup by the judiciary.” The candlelight demonstrations in Seoul in May 2008, shortly after the inauguration of President Lee, against the import of U.S. beef was another display of civic action. A huge number of citizens showed their fear of getting mad cow disease from eating U.S. beef in spite of the obviously low probability of getting the disease. Those months-long demonstrations and subsequent social unrest caused serious concerns about the political future of Korea.

Early in 2009, the rival political parties clashed physically over a few media-related bills proposed by the administration. They even used chains, an axe and an electric saw to block or forcibly open some chambers in the National Assembly. Women representatives wrestled in the main lobby of the National Assembly and an opposition member jumped up and down on the table of the Assembly secretary general in protest against an allegedly unfair processing of the bills. The Republic of Korea National Assembly earned the recognition as one of the most violence-prone legislatures in the world as CNN broadcast these scenes.