South Korea’s Democracy Challenge: Political System, Political Economy, and Political Society

Thirty years have passed since in 1987 formal democratization was achieved in South Korea. Since then the country has undergone the two turnover test (Huntington), and it overcame economic, financial, and political crises. However, social inequality is higher than before democratization, social conflict has been exacerbating, and political polarization has been on the rise. South Korea’s democracy has been going through a continuous stress test trying the polity’s capacity to heal social conflict, integrate society, and mature politics as meeting these challenges is key to sustainable consolidation of democracy. The chapters of this edited volume, written by experts from South Korea and Germany in respective fields, examine the way in which South Korea has coped with these challenges in its political system, political economy, and political society since its transition to formal democracy, and provide a focused critical assessment of three decades after democratization.

Hannes B. Mosler holds a PhD in political science and is Professor at the Institute of Korean Studies (IKS) with a focus on Korean politics at Freie Universität Berlin (Germany). His major research interests are political parties, political systems, constitutional law, political remembrance, and policy decision processes in Korea and comparative research approaches.

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Contents

• Introduction: South Korea’s Democracy in Light of the Candles | Hannes B. Mosler

Part I – Political System

• Characteristics and Challenges of South Korea’s Presidential Government System | Hannes B. Mosler
• Thirty Years of Party Politics in South Korea after Democratization: From Mass-Mobilizing Parties to By-Stander Parties | Won-Taek Kang

Part II – Political Economy

• Inequality and the Crisis of Democracy in South Korea | Yun Tae Kim
• Chaebol Reform in South Korea | Sangin Park

Part III – Political Society

• What Social Movements Can (Not) Contribute to Democracy | Jochen Roose
• Winding Path of Democratization and the Transformation of Citizen Politics in South Korea, 1987-2017 | Jin-Wook Shin
• The Evolution of South Korean Civic Activism | Kisuk Cho and Hye Yun Park