South Korea’s Laboratory of Democracy
What Can We Learn from South Korea and Its Democratic Journey?
Welcome to another essay from Civic Way’s series on global democracies. The author, Bruce Anderson, is an advisor to Civic Way. Bruce has an MBA and over 45 years of management experience with private entities like Price Waterhouse and public sector entities like the Cleveland Public Schools. He has managed projects for numerous other agencies, including colleges, schools, cities and counties. Bruce also served in the Peace Corps.
Civic Way’s Comparative Democracy Series
The world’s democracies come in many forms, but they face similar challenges.
Some have strong central governments, some federated structures. Some have an independent chief executive and some a parliamentary form. Some variations in democracies are embodied in a nation’s constitution and laws. Others spring from historical, cultural or demographic factors.
To meet the inherent challenges of democracies, many nations change their constitutions, laws and cultural norms. Learning about these changes, and the risks they were intended to address, can yield promising ideas for preserving and improving our own democracy.
Civic Way’s Comparative Democracy Series
The world’s democracies come in many forms, but they face similar challenges.
Some have strong central governments, some federated structures. Some have an independent chief executive and some a parliamentary form. Some variations in democracies are embodied in a nation’s constitution and laws. Others spring from historical, cultural or demographic factors.
To meet the inherent challenges of democracies, many nations change their constitutions, laws and cultural norms. Learning about these changes, and the risks they were intended to address, can yield promising ideas for preserving and improving our own democracy.
An Introduction to South Korea
South Korea—the Republic of Korea (ROK)—is located on the Korean Peninsula about half-way between China and Japan, bordered by North Korea, the Yellow Sea and Sea of Japan. With an area of 39,000 square miles and a population of nearly 52 million, the ROK has slightly less land than Ohio, but five-fold higher population density. Seoul, with half the nation’s population, is the capital.
South Korea’s history is inspiring. From 1950 to 1953, the Korean War split the peninsula into two devastated nations (and economies). But, with US aid, South Korea rose from the ashes. From 1980 to 1990, it had the fastest rise in average GDP per capita in the world. In 1987, it ended authoritarian rule. In 1988, it adopted its current constitution. Since 1991, it has been a United Nations member and forged strong trade alliances with other nations across the globe.
By most measures, propelled by its economic growth, the ROK’s success is breathtaking. A $2.7 trillion GDP and the world’s 14th largest economy. The third-highest life expectancy. The fifth best educational system. The 19th best score in the Human Development Index (tied with Japan and just ahead of the US). Globally respected product and cultural brands.
South Korea’s Government Structure
Under its 1988 Constitution, the ROK has a presidential republic with three branches:
Executive branch – The President is elected to serve as Commander in Chief and manage the State Council, 23 ministries, and17 administrative authorities. The President appoints ministers to the State Council, subject to National Assembly confirmation.
Legislative branch – The National Assembly is independent and unicameral. It has 300 members, including 253 from single-seat constituencies.
Judicial branch – There are two federal high courts—the Supreme Court with 14 justices and one Chief Justice and the Constitutional Court with nine justices. Supreme Court justices must be at least 45 years of age with at least 20 years of legal experience. The Constitutional Court rules on constitutional, impeachment and political party dissolution matters.
South Korea is divided into 17 provinces, each with an elected governor or mayor (e.g., the Province of Seoul). Within the provinces, there are hundreds of local jurisdictions, including Metropolitan Councils. Localities have several elected officials, including mayors, council members and education superintendents (the only non-partisan elected office).
South Korea’s Democracy
Given the ROK’s strong economic and cultural reputation, it is easy to overlook its reputation as one of Asia’s most advanced democracies.
The Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index (DI) ranks South Korea as a “full democracy” with a 8.16 score. Of 167 nations, South Korea is tied for 23rd. It has the fifth-highest score in Asia/Australasia, trailing Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Taiwan.
The Freedom House scores South Korea at 83 (on a 100-point scale), one of the highest scores in Asia. The ROK’s rating was tied with the US, but lower than that of Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Taiwan. Of the ROK, the Freedom House wrote, “Civil liberties are generally respected, though … it struggles with minority rights and social integration…Corruption is also a persistent problem.”
The ROK has many political parties, but two dominate—the liberal Democratic Party (DPK) and conservative People Power Party (PPP). In the 2022 national election, the DPK and PPP won over 90 percent of the votes and 285 National Assembly seats. In recent decades, dozens of minor parties have organized around narrower issues, but none have seriously challenged the DPK or PPP.
Here are some other distinctive features of South Korea’s democracy:
Voting – The ROK maintains a national registered voter database. When voting early, voters may use more convenient polling places than their registered precinct. On election day, registered voters may vote at their regular precinct or the South Korea embassy or consulate where they reside. In the 2020 National Assembly election, voter turnout was over 66 percent, the highest in over 28 years. In the 2022 presidential election, voter turnout was 77 percent.
Elections – National elections are held every five years (presidential and legislative elections are two years apart). Local and presidential elections are held the same year, but not the same day (in 2022, the elections were in May and June). Local officials are elected by simple plurality. The federal government administers all elections.
Campaign financing – Campaign donations and expenditures are limited by law. Candidates and their close relatives must disclose financial donations and obey other campaign regulations.
Executive branch – The President is elected by simple plurality.
Legislative branch – 253 National Assembly members are elected from single-seat constituencies by simple plurality and 47 are chosen through proportional representation.
Legislative representation – Each party receives a portion of the 47 seats commensurate with its share of the aggregate national vote. Each party determines who will fill those seats.
Judicial branch – The President appoints all justices with the National Assembly’s consent.
Term limits – The President serves one five-year term, National Assembly members serve one four-year term and Supreme Court justices serve one six-year term. Supreme Court justices may be granted a one-term extension by the National Assembly, but they cannot serve beyond age 70. Local elected officials also have term limits. Term extensions are rarely requested or granted.
Removal process – The National Assembly may impeach the President but must refer the impeachment to the Constitutional Court for a final ruling.
At the end of each voting period, all votes are sealed and transported by police to a central location for tabulation. After the 2022 election, the standard vote audit found 307,000 invalid votes (less than one percent of the total but more than the winning margin of 240,000 votes). Still, the result was accepted.
South Korea’s Political Landscape
The ROK’s political landscape is heavily influenced by at least two factors, the external threat of China and North Korea and the internal threat of political corruption.
It has been nearly 70 years since the end of the Korean War, but North Korea’s constant saber rattling keeps South Koreans on high alert. The ROK’s National Security Law (NSL), which bans pro-North Korean conduct, is a political third rail. In 2014, for example, the Constitutional Court dissolved the United Progressive Party for violating the NSL.
Corruption has rocked ROK politics in recent years. In 2016, the Constitutional Court upheld the National Assembly’s impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, the leader of the conservative Liberty Korea Party (a predecessor of the PPP). Samsung Vice-Chair Lee Jae-young was sentenced to prison on a related bribery conviction. In 2017 and 2018 many others confessed to bribery charges.
In the 2020 National Assembly election, the DPK won 169 (56 percent) of the seats while the PPP won 114 seats (38 percent). The remaining seats were allocated to Independents and minor parties.
In the 2022 presidential election, the PPP party candidate, Yoon Suk-yeol, was elected President with 48.6 percent of the votes cast (the DPK party candidate won 47.8 percent of the votes).
Possible Lessons for the US
South Korea’s democracy has many features worth exploring. Some highlights:
Parties – The nation’s two-party domination of its politics is slightly mitigated by the proportionate representation of 47 National Assembly seats.
Voting – The ROK’s relatively high voter turnout may be attributable to several factors, including strong election security controls, central ballot counting and tough campaign finance rules.
Elections – Holding presidential, other national elections and local elections on different days may help reduce election saturation—and voter confusion.
Campaign financing – Campaign donations and expenditures are limited by law. Candidates and their close relatives must disclose financial donations and observe other campaign regulations.
Legislative representation – Proportional representation gives minor parties a stronger voice in national affairs and may encourage activists to create new parties.
Judicial branch – The Constitutional Court’s role may help ensure a more independent impeachment process and enhance public confidence in the outcome.
Term limits – Term limits for the President, National Assembly and Supreme Court could encourage new ideas and energy. They have not, however, eliminated corruption.
Removal process – The impeachment process has been used twice in the last 20 years. The President’s removal in 2017 suggests its efficacy for promoting accountability.
We cannot perfect our union without perfecting our democracy. This will require us to not only learn from our own successes and setbacks, but the feats and failures of other nations. Reviewing the successes of other nations and the barriers they overcame will help us strengthen our democracy.