Assessing the Moon Administration One Year On

It’s a while since Chatham House did a session on South Korea, and the timing for this couldn’t be better.

Assessing the Moon Administration One Year On

13 June 2018 – 1:15pm to 5:45pm
Chatham House | 10 St James’s Square | London SW1Y 4LE

Participants
Victor Cha, Senior Adviser and Korea Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Hae-won Jun, Professor, Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, Korea National Diplomatic Academy
Woosik Moon, Professor of International Finance, Seoul National University

Overview
This roundtable will assess the first year in office of the Moon Jae-in administration in South Korea. It will examine the government’s progress on issues of economic reform and corporate governance, including limiting corruption and enhancing the transparency of the country’s chaebol. It will also consider political representation, government legitimacy and participatory politics in the context of the 2016-17 Candlelight Protests, including the impact of the Internet and social media.

This event is in partnership with the KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Institute for European Studies of Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

13:15-13:30	Registration Tea/coffee
13:30-13:45	Opening Remarks Champa Patel, Head, Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Korea Foundation-Free University of Brussels Korea Chair
13:45-14:15	Welcome remarks Nahmkook Sun, Charge d’Affaires and Acting Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the UK
14:15-15:45	Session One | Political representation, government legitimacy and participatory politics In what way have the Candlelight Protests of 2016-17 changed political engagement in South Korea? What impact has progressive activism/street politics played in bolstering the resurgence of the Left in South Korea? What has this meant for participatory versus representational politics? What impact has this resurgence had on specific policy priorities? Did the Candlelight Protests of 2016-17 weaken or enhance the institutional structures of South Korean politics? Is protest in South Korea a form of populist politics that strengthens or undermines the democratic process? What role has social media and the Internet played in enhancing political transparency and citizens’ engagement in democratic politics in South Korea? What have been the consequences of the collapses of Saenuridang for Conservative Politics in South Korea? Does the planned merger of the People’s Party with Bareun imply that localism is less of a force in contemporary politics? Hae-won Jun, Professor, Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, Korea National Diplomatic Academy Agathe L’Homme, Analyst – Asia, Economist Intelligence Unit Victor Cha, Senior Adviser and Korea Chair, Center for Strategic & International Studies Chair: John Nilsson-Wright, Senior Research Fellow, Asia-Pacific Programme
15:45-16:00	Coffee Break
16:00-17:30	Session Two | Economic reform, corporate governance and challenging the power of the chaebol How well has the Moon Administration delivered on its promise of reform and meeting the economic and social needs of ordinary Koreans? What impact has the Moon Administration had in limiting corruption and enhancing corporate transparency by Korea’s chaebol? South Korea is aging more rapidly than any other advanced economy. What are the fiscal and social implications of this trend and what is the Moon administration doing to correct the country’s rapidly increasing demographic deficit? How successful has it been in confronting the problem of widening inequalities (income and social) in the ROK? To what degree is educational achievement among young Koreans a guarantee of employment opportunities and social and professional advancement? To what extent might reduced employment opportunities for Korean youth lead to rising social and political disaffection? How successful has the administration been in providing vocational training to complement traditional four year university educational opportunities? How acute is gender discrimination in South Korea and what concrete steps has the Moon Administration taken to enhance opportunities for women in professional life in South Korea? Soohyun Christine Lee, Assistant Professor, Korean and East Asian Political Economy, King’s College London Woosik Moon, Professor of International Finance, Seoul National University Randall Jones, Head, Japan/Korea Desk, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Chair: Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Korea Foundation-Free University of Brussels Korea Chair
17:30-17:45	Closing Remarks John Nilsson-Wright, Senior Research Fellow, Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Korea Foundation-Free University of Brussels Korea Chair