What Has Happened to the Poster Child: Is South Korean Democracy Backsliding?

TY - JOUR

T1 - What Has Happened to the Poster Child

T2 - Is South Korean Democracy Backsliding?

AU - Lee, Soo Hyun

AU - Fleckenstein, Timo

PY - 2025/10/17

Y1 - 2025/10/17

N2 - South Korean democracy had been under attack. This was most apparent in President Yoon Suk-Yeol’s attempt to impose martial law. But it was not the only challenge to Korean democracy, previously regarded as one of the most successful third-wave democracies. Though not calling into question episodes of democratic regression, this article challenges arguments of Korean democracy backsliding and instead points to the country’s democratic rollercoaster: ascent under progressive leadership followed by sharp decline under right-wing administrations. Democratic resilience is also evidenced in civil society mobilisation and popular uprisings in democratic crises, and the rise of programmatic party competition has been vital in democratic consolidation. Significant achievements notwithstanding, a profound crisis of Korean democratic politics is acknowledged. The article proposes an institutionalist account of democratic stagnation that puts constitutional flaws of the Korean political system and the chaebol-dominated economy centre-stage. This institutionalist perspective informs the argument that fundamental constitutional reform recalibrating the relationship between the executive and legislature is imperative, and this with the priority objective of strengthening the party-political system. This research contends that it is the Korean constitutional architecture that has been compromising the mediating capacity of political parties and, doing so, holding back democratic progress.

AB - South Korean democracy had been under attack. This was most apparent in President Yoon Suk-Yeol’s attempt to impose martial law. But it was not the only challenge to Korean democracy, previously regarded as one of the most successful third-wave democracies. Though not calling into question episodes of democratic regression, this article challenges arguments of Korean democracy backsliding and instead points to the country’s democratic rollercoaster: ascent under progressive leadership followed by sharp decline under right-wing administrations. Democratic resilience is also evidenced in civil society mobilisation and popular uprisings in democratic crises, and the rise of programmatic party competition has been vital in democratic consolidation. Significant achievements notwithstanding, a profound crisis of Korean democratic politics is acknowledged. The article proposes an institutionalist account of democratic stagnation that puts constitutional flaws of the Korean political system and the chaebol-dominated economy centre-stage. This institutionalist perspective informs the argument that fundamental constitutional reform recalibrating the relationship between the executive and legislature is imperative, and this with the priority objective of strengthening the party-political system. This research contends that it is the Korean constitutional architecture that has been compromising the mediating capacity of political parties and, doing so, holding back democratic progress.

KW - Civil Society

KW - Democratic Backsliding

KW - Imperial President

KW - South Korea

KW - Political Parties

KW - Martial Law

M3 - Article

SN - 0047-2336

JO - JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY ASIA

JF - JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY ASIA

ER -