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South Korea’s Democracy in Crisis
The Threats of Illiberalism, Populism, and Polarization
Authors/Editors:
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Publisher:
2022
Summary
Like in many other states worldwide, democracy is in trouble in South Korea, entering a state of regressionin the past decade, barely thirty years after its emergence in 1987. The society that had ordinary citizensleading “candlelight protests” demanding the impeachment of Park Geun-Hye in 2016–17 has becomepolarized amid an upsurge of populism, driven by persistent structural inequalities, globalization, and therise of the information society.
The symptoms of democratic decline have been increasingly hard to miss: the demonization of politicalopponents, erosion of democratic norms, and the whittling away of the courts’ independence. Perhapsmost disturbing is that this all took place under a government dominated by former pro-democracyactivists. Will the election victory of opposition leader Yoon Suk-Yeol end this democratic erosion, or willthe rift between South Korea’s progressives and conservatives only deepen with the next administration?
The contributors to this volume trace the sources of illiberalism in today’s Korea; examine how politicalpolarization is plaguing its party system; discuss how civil society and the courts have become politicized;look at the roles of inequality, education, and social media in the country’s democratic decline; andconsider how illiberalism has affected Korea’s foreign policy.
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Bibliographic data
Copyright year
2022
ISBN-Print
978-1-5381-7780-8
ISBN-Online
978-1-931368-71-1
Publisher
Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language
English
Pages
338
Product type
Edited Book
Table of contents
ChapterPages
Contents No access
Tables and Figures No access
Abbreviations No access
Contributors No access
Preface No access
Introduction Korea’s Democratic Decay WORRISOME TRENDS AND PRESSING CHALLENGES No access Pages 1 - 30
1 Why Is Korean Democracy Majoritarian but Not Liberal? No access Pages 31 - 50
2 Uses and Misuses of Nationalism in the Democratic Politics of Korea No access Pages 51 - 80
3 The Weakness of Party Politics and Rise of Populism in Korea No access Pages 81 - 112
4 The Politicization of Civil Society NO LONGER WATCHDOGS OF POWER, FORMER DEMOCRATIC ACTIVISTS ARE BECOMING NEW AUTHORITARIAN LEADERS No access Pages 113 - 136
5 The Politicization of the Judiciary in Korea CHALLENGES IN MAINTAINING THE BALANCE OF POWER No access Pages 137 - 156
6 Two Divergences in Korea’s Economy and Democracy REGIONAL AND GENERATIONAL DISPARITIES No access Pages 157 - 192
7 Democracy and the Educational System in Korea No access Pages 193 - 222
8 Social Media and the Salience of Polarization in Korea No access Pages 223 - 250
9 Illiberalism in Korean Foreign Policy No access Pages 251 - 286
10 The Democratic Recession A GLOBAL AND COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE No access Pages 287 - 318
Epilogue Korea’s 2022 Presidential Election POPULISM IN THE POST-TRUTH ERA No access Pages 319 - 324
