0ASSIGNMENT DEMOCRATIZATION: CASE STUDY IN SOUTH KOREA The paper was written to accomplish the task subjects of Democracy By: Mazia Rizqi Izzatika Omi Ongge DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH YOGYAKARTA 2 0 10 According to Georg Sorensen. Introduction: Understanding Democratization Democratization can be interpreted as a process towards democracy which was initially considered to have a different system state. a civil society. Page 43. A. Some argue said that democratization is the transition from authoritarian or semi-authoritarian systems to democratic political systems. even if they call the system as a system of democracy. Robert. Sorensen. Democratization became an interesting thing because in fact every country has a different pattern of the democratic system. such as resistance. civil war and revolution.3 Looking back at forward-pullback of democracy. (2) political culture. (4) some external factor economic factors. rebellion. It is also influenced by the teachings of Confucius who wants people to always be obedient to his rule. 1) Stages of Democratization Decide a state system begins with several stages. dan Pemerintah Korea: Sebuah Pengantar. Masyarakat. 3 Dahl. as well as democratization. Perihal Democracy: Menjelajahi Teori dan Praktek Demokrasi secara Singkat. ideology and other elements. . then the community will build a democratic system as well. Thus democratization in Korea was more emphasis on the community level. Page 35. the implementation of democratization are preferred at the level of civil society because civil society at the time it was democratic. Yang Seung & Mas¶oed. the rule of law. There are the rise and fall times. politics. and an independent judiciary. (3) social structure of society.1 Based on several theories of democracy. regular free and fair elections. Demokrasi dan Demokratisasi. democratic systems nowhere are taken to be those approximating to universal suffrage.2 Dahl conveys that democratization cannot always run smoothly. Politik. In discussing democratization in Korea. namely: (1) modernization and prosperity.1 DEMOCRATIZATION: CASE STUDY IN SOUTH KOREA A. it is important to distinguish between democratization at the state and democratization at the level of civil society. we can rely on the strength of history to ensure that democracy will always 1 2 Yoon. Page 47. Muhtar. at least there are four preconditions that lead a country decides to choose to use democracy as a system of state. Georg. Page 74. it means yet fully democratic.2 be ahead or even a place to live. because it depends on what is done by each country. the overall process to achieve a democratic government takes more than two hundred years. The model has a background condition of national unity. Georg Sorensen has modification democratization model proposed by Dankwart Rustow as an effort to facilitate understanding of the stages of democratization. The new regime into democracy has its limitations. Democracy does not come by chance. most of the populations of its citizens do not show any hesitation or mental reservation about the political community. which must be understood first before understanding the transition to democracy. for example United Kingdom. Preparations Phase: The end of nondemocracy rezim 2. This process also could have been setbacks. Consolidation Phase: continuing development of democracy. Stage of Democratization according to Georg Sorensen 4 Idem. The new regime is yet to be consolidated. which will happen when democracy viewed by the major political actors as the only game in town. This process then continues at this stage of deepening democracy. reflecting to political culture Picture 1."4 In this case means if there are some correlations problems of national unity. If a transition that begins with awareness of the authoritarian regime then they should leave the system. Decision Phase: Starting built the rules of democration 3.. some countries experienced a long process towards democratic governance. "national unity is simply to show that. The democratization process is not always running as it should. which then formed the new government based on free elections. the Condition of National as Background: national unity 1. . According Rustow. then the problem must be solved before the transition to democracy can be run. 2) Transition and Consolidation The transition from government non-democratic into democratic government is a process that complex and involves a number of stages. Korea had to keep changing its form of government and often very big political events. Page 48. Democratization in South Korea The Republic of Korea is regarded as a shining example of democracy in East Asia. one character is shown by the fall of the First Republic of power which is considered undemocratic. After Japanese occupation ended and the Korean won independence. Politik. Korea's democracy in practice has been plagued by political gridlock. Historically. severe factional infighting. To talk more about democracy and democratization in Korea. if the problem is not resolved in a democratic outcome will occurred repression or civil war.3 This basic principle according to the situation where the established democracies have to face the crisis of national unity. dan Pemerintah Korea: Sebuah Pengantar.5 Thus it can be seen that democratization of Korean society has been started in the late 80s marked by increasingly widespread popular movement that carried out to force the government implement the process of democratization. Korea must continue to implement the system of democracy and begin at an early stage of the phase expressed by Georg Sorensen as µPreparation Phase¶. The fall of the military-civilian government and civil administration rise Kim Young-Sam began to pave the way for Korea to restart the process of democratization. Second republic has managed to start with democracy. So. a lack of social capital and cooperation between civil society and political institutions. Korea began to defend democracy and continue through the second phase namely µDecision Phase¶. Yang Seung & Mas¶oed. have also discussed strong position of country and began the growth of civil society in the 80¶s. But not being able to perform the task as a whole and then the second Republic was overthrown by a military coup that later brought on the condition that Korea is not democratic. These efforts began to succeed due to changes of the military government to a democratic government. Muhtar. B. Although during the first Republic. and leadership behavior that 5 Yoon. the presidential election system has been carried out democratically through elections but development of democracy in fact distorted by the growing political power. Despite this significant achievement. . Masyarakat. The emergence of popular movements continued effort to create democratic conditions. resulting in a collusion between the authorities and employers . Government relations.The police and the bureaucracy is very strong . The democratization process that occurred in the Republic of Korea is very attractive for review. the government is very strong. and Entrepenueur in South Korea´ . History of Politics in South Korea6 Period Leader of Government Syngman Rhee 1948-1960 Pre-Crisis System of Politics and Government Republic I Constitutional Democracy Dictator Formation of Industrial Relationship Pre-Industrial.4 calls to mind its authoritarian past.1. . the beginning of democratization in the Republic of Korea also brings national economic progress. workers and employers are very weak Additional Information Chang Myon 1960-1961 Park Chung Hee 1961-1979 Republic II Republic III (1961-1972) SemiAuthoritarian State corporatism. Government. Table 1. although the road to where the process was characterized by several important revolutions that led to large massacre in South Korea.The government turned into a dictator. Nosajeong: Rahasia Kebangkitan dan Percepatan Demokrasi Korea. From Table 1. 200 students was killed by military operations. Tulus.Demo of students end Rhee¶s Rezim Coup by Park Directed to the High Technology Industry exportoriented. Park was killed by the Intelligence Service. ³Relationship between Labour. its journey toward democratic consolidation is far from complete. appoint additional members of parliament. but cannot join association and political activities. This in turn expressed satisfaction for the people of South Korea. . 2007. By the tragedy of Kwangju. Page 11. Yushin Act has set the Park Chung Hee as president for life.The threat of Communist . Although the country is now a secure electoral democracy. years of labor for their whole life. and then oversee the campus and the press. Reformation and revitalization Seizure of government power Choi Kyung Hah 1979-1980 Chun Doo 6 Republic IV Republic V Warsito.There is no national organization . Some employers out of business. without a general election. and need help from IMF New Labour Act: to allow the dismissal. the GNP had fallen sharply. the first period is from national division and the Korean War to the 19th Revolution in 1960 when the democratization movement against Rhee Syng Man regime s anticommunist dictatorship began to surface. and increase workers' salaries. 1. Table 2. Characteristics of Democratization as Roots in South Korea No. The third period is from the December 12th Coup and the May 17th Coup launched by Chun Doo Hwan neo-military forces to the June Democratic Uprising in 1987 when the democratization movement was so greatly enhanced that the authoritarian regime was democratized through the June Democratic Uprising. The second period is from the May 16th Coup in 1961 to the Spring of Seoul in 1980 when the democratization movement was further developed and expanded in resistance to Park Chung Hee regimes development dictatorship lastly. GNP rose 20% Investment began to rise IMF Debt repaid Decreased Conflict No-Sa-Jeong Monetary Crisis 1997 PostCrisis Republic VI AuthoritarianMilitary Republic VII Kim Young Sam 1992-1997 Kim Dae Jung 1997-2002 Civil Democracy Democracy as roots of political system can be divided into three periods related to democratization of South Korea as follows. South Korea had an extreme anticommunist system which resulted from the conflicts in the post-liberation period and the subsequent Korean War In this system the anticommunist state wielded massive coercive power while civil society was destroyed weakened .5 Hwan 19801987 Roh Tae Woo 1987-1992 by undemocratic process. Leader Rhee Syng Man¶s Regime Year 1948-1960 Characteristic of Democratization Process y The democratization movement began in protest against Rhee anticommunist dictatorship based on the extreme anti communist system after the Japanese surrender in August 1945. y The Korean War strengthened anticommunism as the ruling ideology of the state. In order to realize expectations for democratization it was urgent to determine a schedule for democratic transition in a transparent and speedy manner It primarily required a constitutional amendment and the subsequent y Election of a civilian government.6 and controlled by the state. y The democratization movement s resistance which was preceded by years of confrontations and escalated tension between both parties under the Yu shin system. y The transition to democracy at structural level is the reason for the fall of the democratic government and Park successful coup was the strong coercive power held by the military. Park Jong Cheol was held nationwide where approximately 60 000 citizens participated in 16 regions . y The student led April 19th Revolution transferred power to a civilian government owing to the newly emerging civil society that had developed since the late 1950s but the military was strong enough to counter the revolution because it monopolized physical coercive power A group of army officers launched a coup on the grounds of chaos of the transition period following the revolution but the civilian government was not powerful enough to control it. Chun Doo Hwan¶s Regime 1980-1987 C. y The transition was obscure during the Spring of Seoul since remnants of the Yushin system remained in the government and were reluctant to present a concrete plan for democratization 2. Democratization of Authoritarian Regime Change by Democratization Movement in South Korea As described above the democratization movement in the 1980s had rapidly grown since the appeasement policy and the largest democratic coalition was formed prior to the June Democratic Uprising in 1987 there were signs showing that given a momentum for change it could turn into a massive popular uprising for democratization. Park Chung Hee¶s Regime 1961-1979 3. y Having seized power by a military coup the Park Chung Hee regime aggressively promoted economic development policies As a result the first Five-Year Economic Development Plan 1962 1966 based on export-oriented industrialization was successfully carried out and the average annual growth rate of the Gross National Product GNP was 83 in this period. Third. which undermined the social structure. these two things should be abolished because democracy system needs liberal in total.7 across the country despite the police blockade citizens participation continued in the Great March of the People for Democratization and Banning Torture held on March 3rd and the police arrested 439 citizens on that day In this situation the Chun Doo Hwan regime announced a policy to preserve the existing Constitution on April 13th which further increased citizens antipathy and resentment toward the regimes repressive policies. the system of dictatorship in development should be abolished because it prevented political stability and economic . Second. the influence of politic is still very strong. and there are some things that should be removed in the political culture in Korea. First. the political culture of the military should be abolished because it is not in accordance with democracy. the democratization of Korea as soon as possible should be placed in widely and total. Conclusion Politics that was happening in Korea during the assessed progress in system are absolutism and dictatorship.93 million at the end of 1989 Kim Geum Su 2004 145. Fifth. As explained above the democratization movement finally made it possible to democratize the authoritarian regime through the June Democratic Uprising With regard to this there were some peculiarities in the South Korean democratization movement which contributed to the success of the June Democratic Uprising.146 even after democratization. Secondly the labor movement also grew rapidly after democratization under the influence of the June Democratic Up rising and the Great Struggle of Workers that had lasted from July to September of 1986 As a result the unionization rate reached the peak of 18 6 after democratization and the number of union members amounted to 1. Political environment that is too large influence will often abuse of political authority. According to The 2006 Comprehensive Survey of South Korean Non-Government Organizations the number of NGOs after democratization skyrocketed from 1235 in 1999 to 3937 in 2002 and further up to 5556 in 2005. D. Fourth. the corruption that was utilizes affiliated positions should be abolished. First of all in terms of organizational form the South Korean democratization movement was a broadly based coalitional movement led by multiple group s rather than by a single class or social group. Yogyakarta: Gajah Mada University Press. Sixth. 2003. E. Warsito. Nosajeong: Rahasia Kebangkitan dan Percepatan Demokrasi Korea. Politik. References Dahl. dan Pemerintah Korea: Sebuah Pengantar. 2007. Georg. . Masyarakat. Yogyakarta: Pilar Media. Robert.8 development. Tulus. 2001. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar . need for development welfare-state for the sake of social and community justice in Korea. Yoon. Muhtar. Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia. Yang Seung & Mas¶oed. Demokrasi dan Demokratisasi. 2003. Sorensen. Perihal Democracy: Menjelajahi Teori dan Praktek Demokrasi secara Singkat. A.
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