The Health of Korean Democracy: Rhetoric Matters, but so Does Action

Mason Richey [Professor, International Politics at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies]

▶   Despite the sordid Park presidency, South Korea displayed signs of a mature democracy, going through enormous political stress with no violence and no illegitimate seizure of power. This was rule of law in action.

▶  Most of the above political behavior by Moon and Yoon is de jure legal, albeit political hardball. So why worry? The risk is that major problems await South Korean liberal democracy if it continues on the apparent path normalizing presidents driving polarization, vilifying opposition, sidelining the legislative branch, embracing “imperial presidency,” and intimidating media.

▶  As South Korea—like all countries—moves into a world of “deepfakes,” disinformation, and artificial intelligence manipulation of online and social media, trust in democratic politics will be more crucial and more threatened, as even reaching consensus on basic facts becomes more challenging. Entering this political environment with ruined democratic norms and rock-bottom popular trust in government and politicians is potentially disastrous.