------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Show The Economist, the British economic news weekly, assesses the democracies of 167 countries worldwide according to the following five criteria: Is the electoral process free and fair? What of the results? In Asia, aside from Japan But, Korea’s history with democracy has been turbulent Let us look again this history, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. The creation of constitutional democracy, and the introduction of a democratic system Democratic politics took several centuries to emerge in the West. 35 years of Japanese colonial rule. A time when the Korean people could not exercise the power and freedoms as members of a sovereign nation, or the obligations as citizens of such a nation. After liberation Right up until the establishment of the republic, violent struggle with leftist forces continued. However, Korea already had some historical experiences that made it ready to accept the foreign idea of democracy. In the Joseon period, the Inspectorates (Sahyeonbu) and the Advisory Committees(Saganwon) restrained and criticized the monarch and his bureaucracy. Noble landowning intellectuals outside the corridors of power also critiqued government policy, making appeals against decisions made, thus a public politics existed. Later on, this led to criticism of power politics by the media and intelligentsia. In the late stages of the dynasty, there was much discussion about a new political system, creation of a parliament, the adoption of a constitution and republican government. After the 1st March Movement, the Provisional government of the Republic of Korea chose republican democratic governance as the basic framework for the future government of Korea. 10th May 1948 A constitutional convention of 198 people meet on 17th July of the same year to promulgate a constitution. And on 15th August, with the declaration establishing a government, a democratic system is introduced and the Republic of Korea formed. Article 1 (of the constitution) Universal suffrage, freedom of speech, the press, protest and association were guaranteed. While private property was protected, The government was centred on the office of the president During the Korean War, Syngman Rhee demanded an amendment to the constitution that mean direct election of the president rather than their selection by the National Assembly. The National Assembly countered by demanding a constitutional change to cabinet government. After both failed, in July 1952, Rhee mobilized the regular and military police, as well as supporter groups to forcibly suppress the National Assembly. This damaged the democratic system, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. The emergence of authoritarianism Subsequently, the Syngman Rhee government began down a path of authoritarianism. Millions of lives devastated by the war, anti-communism at fever pitch, South Korean politics became increasingly conservative, the politics of the right in the ascent. The first opposition party in Korean political history, the Korean Democratic Party, and its successor, the Democratic National Party, along with the Democratic party that followed it, were all political parties that represented landlords and property owners. They showed as much strong anti-communist tendencies as the ruling Liberal Party. State institutions, including the police and military, became more rigid, while freedom of thought was suppressed. It was Syngman Rhee, though, above all else In September 1945, even the Left selected him as president of the Korean People’s
Republic. Kang Won-Taek / Seoul National University, Political Science Professor Shin Bok-ryong / Former professorial chair at Kunkook University In 1954, approaching the end of his term in office, sought to amend the constitution to get
rid of term limits, choosing the path of a would-be president for life. Lee Jeong-hee / Political Science Professor, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Syngman Rhee was a leader to be venerated and respected by the people. The poster for the 1960 election read: “let’s promote once again the man who has given all 80 years of his life in the serve of the nation.” What’s more, from 1955 onward, every year on 26th March However, while this was a period of deepening authoritarianism, it was also a time of democratic progress. First, a political party system with both government and opposition developed. In the early 1950s, with the constitutional change to directly-elected presidents, two parties in direct competition emerged: the pro-Rhee ruling party and the anti-Rhee opposition party. Lee Jeong-hee / Political Science Professor, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Kim Yong-ho / Political Science Professor, Inha University Second, elections were used as a device to reflect the popular will. “This cannot go on, time for a change”, “change won’t make any difference.” The May 1956 Presidential and Vice Presidential elections became an intense battle between the ruling and opposition parties. Shin Ik-hee, the main opposition party’s candidate died suddenly while campaigning, and thus Syngman Rhee was easily reelected. However, Chang Myon, the opposition Vice Presidential candidate was elected his deputy. Two years later, in the Assembly Elections, the opposition made large gains. Third, and most importantly, this was a period in which a generation educated in the values of freedom, equality and the sovereignty of the people in the democratic process emerged. After the armistice was signed, elementary education became mandatory, and by the late 1950s, 99% of children of the right age were in elementary
school. At the same time, there was a steep rise in the number of students enrolled at middle and high school, as well as university. Kang Won-taek / Political Science Professor, Seoul National University The development of two party politics, the holding of elections, and education in democratic values became the force behind the 19th April Revolution that overthrew the Syngman Rhee regime. In 1960, Syngman Rhee was already an old man, at 85. But Cho Byeong-ok, the opposition candidate died one month before the day of the election, thereby guaranteeing that Rhee’s re-election. The problem was the Vice Presidential election. Because the vice president would take over, if the president died or was incapacitated, the Liberal Party absolutely had to win the Vice Presidential Election. The Rhee regime conducted a campaign of mass rigging that included creating phantom voters, mobilizing government power to intimidate voters, having open group voting in groups of 3-5, voting for those who did not vote, switching ballot boxes and faking votes. Thanks to this, Lee Gi-bung got close to 80% 0f the vote in the election, but the result was not recognized by the people. People began protests in the major cities of the country on the day of the election. People were enraged when the police opened fire on the protests, killing marchers. This inflamed public opinion against the rigged election, and protests erupted in Masan and all other major cities, including Seoul. In response, the United States urged Syngman Rhee to resign, Kim Yong-ho/ Political Science Professor, Inha University ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. Military Coup, the emergence of a new ruling group Following Rhee’s resignation, the opposition Democratic Party led a constitutional reform process that resulted in the adoption of a cabinet government system. To the military, this presented an opportunity. During the Korean War, the military had become more modern and organized than any other social group. Before the war, the army was composed of a mere 100,000 men, but by the late 1950s it had increased by more than seven times. The officer corps had similarly increased rapidly in size. These young officers became disillusioned with their older superiors, and increasingly
found themselves in conflict with their way of doing things. As a result, Kim Jong-pil, a leading figure calling for reform left the military, while Park Chung-hee was demoted to a less important post. The Chang Myon government did not take the threat of revolt from the Park Chung-hee-led group of officers seriously. What they did not know as that they had all but collapsed from within as the army Chief of staff was already working with the Park group. Park Chung-hee and his co-conspirators initiated their coup in the early hours of the morning on 16th May 1961. A small force of 3,600 soldiers, including a brigade of marines from Kimpo, occupied army headquarters, major government institutions and KBS broadcasting center. The coup leaders formed the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction, mobilizing extra-legal force to deal with social unrest while beginning a program of economic development. The Park Chung-hee military government sought to transform itself into a civilian administration through the ballot box. In order to do this, it created the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) as the government’s principle security organ, and organized a political party through which the military would participate in elections. December 1962, a constitutional amendment creating a directly-elected presidential system is approved in a referendum. October 1963, Park Chung-hee, coup leader, beats Yun Poson, president in the Democratic Party administration in the presidential election. A close result, with Park receiving 4.7 million votes to Yun’s 4.55 million. So it was that the coup leaders donned suits and appeared, on the surface, to become civilian leaders. At the same time, democratic party-based politics and representative government was restored. From his first year in office, Park sought to normalize relations with Japan. His second-in-command, Kim Jong-pil, head of the KCIA, met with Japanese foreign minister Ohira in November 1962 and agreed on the amount of aid that Japan would pay Korea. Following this, in spring 1964 the new Park government rushed to reach a settlement. The opposition party and students saw this as a shameful betrayal of the nation, and began struggle to resist the proposed normalization. From March 1964, protests became more serious. Park saw them as opposition without alternative and mobilized the military to suppress them. 3rd June, another massive protest
erupts, and martial law is declared. By around 1965, though, the economic development began apace, The National Assembly elections held soon after, sparked controversy, with allegations of rigging, when the ruling Republican Party managed secure a 2/3 majority that would enable Park to amend the constitution. In 1969, Park began a push for a third term amendment to the constitution. Those who supported Kim Jong-pil, second in the party, opposed the amendment, What’s more, he managed to beat the young Kim Dae-jung, opposition candidate, in the 1971 presidential election, becoming the third term president. But, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, North Korea had become increasingly provocative, militarily, even sending special forces to attack the Blue House. With defeat in the Vietnam, the US signalled that they would no longer be prepared to intervene in Asia, and they also began withdrawing forces from Korea. The Cold War was also changing in other ways too, with not only the US, but also Japan seeking to normalize relations with China. To Park, this presented both a security and state crisis. He thought that only he could resolve this crisis, and that he had to remain at the helm. In October 1972, Park once again mobilized the military, declaring martial law and suspending the constitution. Under in the tense atmosphere of martial law, a new constitution was put to a referendum and approved. No longer was the president to be directly elected, rather the president was selected by Unification People’s Congress, in what was called a ‘gym election’. The people had thus lost their right to choose their own government. The president also had the authority to dissolve parliament and put in place emergency measures, while 1/3 of the National Assembly was, in reality, selected by the president himself. Thus, only a shell remained of representative democracy and the separation of powers. And so it was that the Yushin political system was created: one-man rule, Park Chung-hee alone, with power he could need. However, in the February 1973 National assembly elections, the people did not support this new system. Though the ruling Republican Party raised their vote to 39%, Kim Dae-jung’s kidnap that summer, Students and opposition-minded intellectuals, as well as religious people, demanded that the Yushin constitution be amended, and began a constitutional amendment petition campaign. The Park Chung-hee government, moved to suppress the movement and arrest those who resisted. In 1974, the Federation of Democratic Young Students affair involving allegations that a nationwide student movement organization hoped to start a violent revolution occurred, along with People’s Revolutionary Party reformation committee affair. In the spring of 1975, the three states of Indochina, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos fell to communism. Fears mounted that if one region went communist others would follow, like a domino. Park Chung-hee promulgated the decisive emergency measure: No. 9, that closed the eyes and mouths of the people, tying their hands and feet. With this, the authoritarian system stabilized. In the meantime, general heavy and chemical
industrialization, and rapid growth continued. But the political situation did not remain calm for long, a new crisis soon ensued. The U.S. Carter administration, sworn in 1977, sought to pursue a foreign policy grounded in human rights, and was sharply critical of the Korean human rights situation. In response, student protests demanding a return to constitutional democracy started again. The common people could not but remain silent in the face of police and secret police surveillance and repression. However, the aversion of the people to Park’s dictatorial rule grew. The major of people sought to signal their disgust with the situation, through the electoral process, restricted and controlled though the process was. Yun Seong-I / Political Science Professor, Kyunghee University Kang Won-taek / Political science professor, Seoul National University This empowered opposition leader Kim Young-sam. In May 1979, he ran up a clear-cut opposition party, and was selected as its head. In August of the same year, while the police were forcibly breaking up a sit-in of female workers from the wigmakers YH at the opposition party headquarters, one of the workers was killed. In September, Kim Young-sam said in an interview with the New York Times that the US government should openly and directly exert pressure on the Park government in order to effect democratization in Korea. Park did not take kindly to these remarks, and had Kim’s seat in the National Assembly taken away. This tough response revoked massive protests in Busan and Masan, the base of Kim Young-sam’s political support. While trying to suppress the protests, divisions at the apex of power emerged, Park Chung-hee was assassinated by the head of the KCIA, and with that, the Yushin system collapsed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. A new military group, the extension of authoritarianism With Yushin’s collapse, there was much hope and desire for democratization. Hardliners, including security commander Chun Doo-hwan who was heading the investigation into Park Chung-hee’s death, arrested the chief administrator of martial law, on 12th December: thus beginning a military coup from which they seized control of the army and government. Spring 1980, though mindful of potential threats, the new military government decided to pardon those imprisoned under Yushin-era emergency measures and send expelled students back to school. University students began to protest, demanding immediate democratization, such as ending martial law and setting out a political schedule of events to come. In reaction to this, on the pretext of the need to prevent social chaos, the new military government enlarged martial law, arrested opposition figures including Kim Dae-jung, dissolved the National Assembly, closed all universities nationwide and banned all protests. The following day, on 18th May, university students and others clashed with the military outside the front gate of Jeonnam University in Kwangju city. Students and people in the area demanded the release of Kim Dae-jung and democratization, but paratroopers attacked the crowd indiscriminately with clubs, killing protestors. Facing a massive protest, the army withdrew to outside the city. Facing a massive protest, the army withdrew to outside the city. Following this, Chun Doo-hwan’s military government moved to deepen its grip on power. They too, like Park Chung-hee before
them, sought to de-militarize the government and don suits. Yun Seong-I / Political Science Professor, Kyunghee University ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. Desire for democracy, the spread of the democratization movement The social base for democracy got increasingly strong. Rapid economic growth, led to a large increase in the average income. Such people understood the rights and obligations of the citizen, and were a group that hoped for the realization of democratization. The ‘president selected in the gymnasium’ and the night 9 o’clock ‘ding-ding Chun news’ was unbearable for such people. The student protest movement, expanded as the Chun Doo-hwan government took power. The movement argued that the United States had helped Chun into power, and became increasingly anti-American. There also emerged a group within the movement that sought socialist revolution as their ultimate goal. In 1983, Kim Young-sam went on hunger strike for 23 days, demanding five clause of democratizations, including an end to media censorship. With the Chun government’s aggressive economic stabilization measures and the global economy reviving, economic growth returned. The elite, gaining in confidence, began to an appeasement policy with their opponents. Professors who had lost their jobs were reemployed, while expelled students were allowed to return to school. Thus the regime sought to cohabit with its critics. It was at this time that the movement for democratization amongst former opposition politicians, students and intellectuals became more active. Kim Young-sam, released from house arrest and, along Kim Dae-jung, who had sentenced to death but exiled to the United States, formed the Council for the Promotion of Democracy, from which they made written declarations and organized protests demanding democratization. Their newly organized opposition party became the leading opposition in the February 1985 General Elections. This new opposition party began a movement for the restoration of direct government election, for the
restoration of the right of the people to choose their government. In the midst of these developments, In July 1986, it emerged that one Bucheon police officer had tortured sexually a female student who had been disguised as a worker. In January 1987, personnels at branch office of National Police Headquarters, in Namyeong-dong tortured students they had brought in, before killing them. The people were enraged by the barbarity that occupied Chun Doo-hwan’s rule, here was no way to switch to a parliamentary system, so on 13th April 1987, Chun revealed his intention to maintain the constitution as it was, with indirectly elected president. This amounted to Chun riding roughshod over popular opinion. Soon after, it was revealed that the police had tried to cut the incident of torture resulting in death and to conceal the truth. Understandably the people responded with anger. In June, beginning with religious groups including the Catholics, people for all walks of life became engaged in the constitutional amendment movement. Hitherto a movement limited to students and opposition party activists, it became a generalized movement even including ordinary white-colars, the so-called ‘necktie brigade’. Kim Yong-ho / Political Science Professor Inha University With agreement of ruling and opposition parties, a democratic constitution including provisions for a directly elected president agreed and won in a referendum. Thus, the Republic of Korea became a democratic republic through peaceful compromise. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6. Establishing a procedural democracy, the opposition takes power In the election that followed, the opposition vote was split between Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam, resulting in the election of Roh Tae-woo. Following the election, democracy continued to develop. Five years later, in 1992, Kim Young-sam, former democracy activist and opposition party leader, having joined the ruling party, was elected president. As a result, almost 30 years of rule by Generals came to end. Halfway toward an opposition party taking power, Kim Young-sam had been an opposition party
politician for almost 40 years. In the 1997 Presidential Election, Kim Dae-jung became the first opposition party candidate to be elected president. This was also the first time that a candidate from the Jeolla region of the country had been elected. In 2002, Roh Moo-hyun was elected
president, another democracy activist becoming president. After the amendment to the constitution in 1987, a presidential election has been help peacefully every five years, and there has been a change in the party holding the presidency twice in that time. This implies the consolidation of democracy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7. Epilogue: Conclusions and prospects The form emerged before the content. Kim Yong-ho / Political Science Professor, Inha University Election results reflected the popular will, and heavily influenced the political system. The middle class could not abide dictatorship, an anachronism given the fruits of economic development. They threw their support behind the democratization movement, and thus the military dictatorship exited the political stage. Circumstantial factors like the scandal created by the torture of students in the movement and the impending Seoul Olympics were also important. The scandal created by torture inflamed
public opinion in 1987, Lastly, Thus it was, in 1948, constitutional democracy was introduced, Kang Won-taek / Political Science Professor, Seoul National University Yun Seong-I / Political Science Professor, Kyunghee University Now Korean society needs to ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Which constitutional change in the early twentieth century led to an increase in democratic participation?A state institutes a fee to vote in a presidential election. Which constitutional change in the early twentieth century led to an increase in democratic participation in the United States? The method by which US senators are elected was changed. You just studied 28 terms!
How did the election of 1828 show the growth of democracy?How did the election of 1828 show the growth of democracy? The election of 1828 promoted political parties and introduced mudslinging to the elections. What reason did the government give by forcing the Native Americans to relocate? The government wanted more land to advance western expansion.
What was a big change to increase democracy prior to the election of Jackson?An important movement in the period from 1800 to 1830—before the Jacksonians were organized—was the gradual expansion of the right to vote from only property owning men to include all white men over 21.
What were three signs that democracy was expanding?Terms in this set (9) What were three signs that democracy was expanding in Western Europe? universal male suffrage laws were passed, the prime minister was responsible to the popularly elected legislative body, not to king or president, and mass political parties were formed.
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