The Perils of South Korean Democracy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6286936 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Joan E Cho, Joan Cho, Aram Hur (0000-0003-1221-5749) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 38-46 |
| Publication date | 2025-04-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of democracy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1045-5736 • E-ISSN: 1086-3214 |
| Publisher | Project MUSE (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1353/jod.2025.a954560 |
| OpenAlex | W4408883126 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
In a nationally televised address on 3 December 2024, South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol declared nationwide martial law for the first time since 1980. With nationwide protests growing, Yoon was impeached and eventually arrested on insurrection charges, marking South Korea's first arrest of a sitting president. This crisis, though shocking, reflects longstanding nationalist polarization rooted in unresolved conflicts tracing back to the Korean War. Such polarization distorts democratic competition, incentivizing partisan elites to prioritize state capture over democratic norms. South Korea's democracy, born amid nationalist conflict, faces persistent dangers as nationalist polarization erodes democratic stability and incentivizes cycles of political revenge
Democracy · Development economics · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Asian Industrial and Economic Development · Korean Peninsula Historical and Political Studies · Law
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |