tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/park-geun-hye-17133/articlesPark Geun-hye – The Conversation2018-02-20T00:38:32Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/913222018-02-20T00:38:32Z2018-02-20T00:38:32ZThirty years since the Seoul Olympics, South Korea is still tackling the legacy of overseas adoption<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206333/original/file-20180214-174982-2eh4r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C390%2C3229%2C1836&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South Korea continues to have a problem with abandoned babies and ongoing overseas adoption despite economic growth.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jessica Walton</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Korea holding this year’s Winter Olympics comes 30 years after the country first hosted the Summer Olympics, in the capital Seoul. It has undergone huge social changes since that time, but there is still a long road ahead for South Korea to become a more equal nation. </p>
<p>As with all major sporting events, the Olympics places a host country’s social issues <a href="https://theconversation.com/two-koreas-working-together-on-winter-olympics-is-a-small-but-important-step-toward-peace-90931">firmly in the international spotlight</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/two-koreas-working-together-on-winter-olympics-is-a-small-but-important-step-toward-peace-90931">Two Koreas working together on Winter Olympics is a small but important step toward peace</a>
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<p>In 1988, South Korea was still under the authoritarian rule of Chun Doo-hwan and – later and to a lesser extent – Roh Tae-woo. The country’s rapid industrialisation and urbanisation had only begun in earnest under Park Chung-hee (the father of ousted former president Park Geun-hye) in the 1960s and 1970s. This came at enormous human cost and sacrifice.</p>
<p>Occasionally, hosting an Olympic Games provides an opportunity for change. The 1988 Olympics shed light on South Korea’s institutionalised practice of international adoption; the country was criticised for being a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/21/world/seoul-journal-babies-for-export-and-now-the-painful-questions.html">baby-exporting nation</a>.</p>
<h2>An ongoing issue</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.tobiashubinette.se/country_korea.pdf">At its peak</a> in 1985, 8,837 children were sent overseas from South Korea for adoption. This amounts to about 24 children per day.</p>
<p>Efforts to curtail the number of children sent overseas were discussed after South Korea was internationally shamed. But although adoptions dropped to 4,191 in 1989 and 2,962 in 1990, they continued in the thousands well into the early 2000s. South Korean children continue to be adopted overseas today. </p>
<p>Since the Korean War ended in 1953, South Korea has systematically sent an estimated 200,000 children to be adopted internationally to the US, Western European countries, and Australia. </p>
<p>A fundamental issue about adoption since the 1980s – and particularly since South Korea joined the OECD in 1996 – is that most occur not due to poverty, but because of entrenched social discrimination against single mothers in a society that makes it incredibly difficult for single mothers to keep their children – even with modest financial support. </p>
<p>Some 90% of international adoptions from South Korea today are from <a href="http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/830741.html">single mothers</a> owing to the deep social stigma they continue to face.</p>
<p>An estimated 2,000 Korean adoptees return every year to the country of their birth; many try to search for their birth family. There are also about six people adopted to the US who have been deported back to South Korea, due to their adoptive parents and the system of adoption failing to ensure they have US citizenship. There are thousands of others who also may not have citizenship, and <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/stop-the-unjust-deportation-of-internationally-adopted_us_5930acd1e4b062a6ac0ace60">thus risk deportation</a>. </p>
<p>Over the last 30 years, adult adoptees in South Korea and internationally <a href="https://www.goal.or.kr">have fought</a> not only for their rights and post-adoption support for adoptees, but also for the <a href="http://www.koroot.org/eng/">rights of single mothers</a>.</p>
<p>More recently, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/adopteesforchange/">adoptees with Korean allies</a> have been <a href="https://justicespeaking.wordpress.com/2015/10/25/forum-to-improve-birthfamily-search/">campaigning for a revision</a> to the country’s 2011 Special Adoption Law (enacted in 2012). </p>
<p>Specifically, these groups are hoping <a href="https://www.koreaexpose.com/korean-adoptees-search-birth-family/">to change post-adoption services</a> to better connect adoptees with birth families, and to ensure adoptees are able to access information about their family history and the circumstances of their adoption. This is particularly important if their birth parents have passed away, if they cannot be found, or in case of a medical emergency.</p>
<h2>Protests show South Korea can change</h2>
<p>In 2016, I attended a few of the candlelight demonstrations at Gwanghwamun Square against Park’s presidency; these were the biggest protests since the democracy movement of the 1980s. Protesters of all ages endured cold autumn and winter nights to stand against corruption and hope for a fairer South Korea.</p>
<p>I was adopted from South Korea to the US in 1983. In that year I was one of 7,263 babies to be adopted internationally. What I know of my Korean mother is that she moved away from the countryside to work in a printing factory. </p>
<p>As one of many single mothers without the support of her family and society more generally, she had no other viable option but to send me to an agency to be adopted overseas. </p>
<p>In 2018, it continues to remain difficult for adoptees to reunite with Korean family members. Only a very small percentage have managed to do so. </p>
<p>With the Pyeongchang Olympics in full swing and the world’s focus on South Korea, now is the time to reflect on what’s been gained since 1988 and how far there is still to go on social issues. A country that is capable of so much is surely also capable of real social and cultural change.</p>
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<p><em>This article has been amended since publication. It originally said:</em></p>
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<p>There are also dozens who were adopted to the US who have been deported back to South Korea due to their adoptive parents and the system of adoption failing to ensure they have US citizenship.</p>
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<p><em>This has been changed to:</em></p>
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<p>There are also about six people adopted to the US who have been deported back to South Korea, due to their adoptive parents and the system of adoption failing to ensure they have US citizenship.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Walton receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>The 1988 Seoul Olympics shed light on South Korea’s institutionalised practice of international adoption.Jessica Walton, DECRA Senior Research Fellow, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/774222017-05-09T18:24:58Z2017-05-09T18:24:58ZFour challenges for Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s new president<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168616/original/file-20170509-11012-1lfbkmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South Korea's Moon Jae-in victorious on May 9, 2017.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Democrat Moon Jae-in is <a href="http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/focus/2017/05/09/56/1700000000AEN20170509001200315F.html">the new president of South Korea</a>. </p>
<p>Moon, a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/09/moon-jae-in-the-south-korean-pragmatist-who-would-be-presidentc">former special forces soldier turned human rights lawyer</a>, won a snap election, following months of mass protests that ousted President Park Geun-hye last December.</p>
<p>The grace period for Moon will be short. Increasing regional tensions and <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/mass-protests-south-korean-president-park-161029123150734.html">demonstrations</a> against corruption characterized the presidential race in <a href="http://statisticstimes.com/economy/asian-countries-by-gdp.php">Asia’s fourth-largest economy</a>. During the campaign, Moon <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/09/south-korea-looks-past-park-as-presidential-election-gets-under-way">promised to address the systemic problems</a> that led to Park’s impeachment, creating expectations that will define his administration.</p>
<p>Here’s what our years of studying Korean <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14442213.2013.789070">migration</a> and <a href="http://www.academia.edu/28322587/Korean_Peninsula_2015_One_step_forward_and_two_steps_back">security</a> led us to see as the biggest challenges facing Moon.</p>
<h2>1. Kim Jong-Un’s nuclear threat</h2>
<p>Moon, the son of refugees from North Korea, favors <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/moon-jae-south-korea-election-596620">engagement and cooperation with North Korea</a>. On the campaign trail, Moon repeatedly stated he is open to negotiations with North Korea and <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/05/05/527027240/leading-south-korean-presidential-candidate-moon-aims-to-negotiate-with-north">willing to meet Kim Jong-un</a>. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-we-really-be-so-afraid-of-a-nuclear-north-korea-71855">nuclear issue</a> is now central to inter-Korean relations. If Moon plans a <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/05/05/527027240/leading-south-korean-presidential-candidate-moon-aims-to-negotiate-with-north">“Sunshine Policy 2.0”</a> – a revival of dialogue and economic aid to North Korea – he’ll need to convince critics that resuming economic cooperation will not fund Kim Jong-un’s nuclear program.</p>
<h2>2. Two important allies</h2>
<p>Caught between the U.S. and China, Moon will try to pursue an independent foreign policy. </p>
<p>Moon needs to manage the Trump administration’s <a href="http://thediplomat.com/2017/04/earth-to-trump-needed-an-east-asia-policy/">conflicted</a> approach to the region. Trump has voiced the possibility of <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/4d9f65d6-17bd-11e7-9c35-0dd2cb31823a">unilateral action</a> against North Korea, but also suggested that he would be <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-39773337">honored to meet Kim Jong-un</a>. Trump stressed the importance of the alliance with South Korea, but also said that South Korea should <a href="http://fortune.com/2017/04/28/trump-thaad-south-korea-trade/">pay for the anti-missile THAAD</a> system the U.S. has <a href="http://thediplomat.com/2017/03/us-south-korea-try-to-reassure-china-on-thaad/">deployed on South Korean soil</a>. And, Trump has suggested that the <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/what-is-korea-us-trade-deal-korus-2017-4">U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement</a> will be renegotiated.</p>
<p>Moon also has fences to mend with China, South Korea’s biggest trading partner. China has criticized the deployment of THAAD as an <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/17/thaad-anti-missile-system-makes-china-lash-out-at-south-korea.html">act of aggression</a> aimed at China and retaliated economically by <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-china-thaad-idUSKBN16R03D">slowing Chinese tourism to South Korea</a>. China accounts for <a href="http://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/kor/#Imports">US$131 billion in South Korean export trade</a>, while the number of Chinese tourists quadrupled to <a href="http://www.voanews.com/a/south-korean-stocks-chinese-anger-thaad/3748022.html">8 million</a> over the last five years, bringing in some $8 billion in duty-free sales alone. </p>
<p>Trying to please both sides will be a diplomatic high wire act. </p>
<h2>3. The struggling economy</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/11/02/asia/south-korea-president-scandal-explained/">scandal</a> that saw the former president <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/30/south-korea-park-geun-hye-arrest-warrant">arrested on corruption charges</a> highlighted South Korea’s dependence on huge family-owned businesses, or “chaebol,” such as Samsung. <a href="https://www.investing.com/news/economy-news/if-elected,-south-korea's-moon-may-put-economy-ahead-of-jobs-and-tax-hikes-480968">Moon has promised to revive the flagging economy</a> while <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/moon-jae-in-south-korea-election-soften-tone-on-north-korea-2017-4">curbing the chaebols’ power</a>. Even if Moon achieves this mammoth task, he will still have to tackle <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/12/14/business/economy-business/south-koreas-youth-unemployment-rate-rises-record-high/">South Korea’s rising youth unemployment</a> and its overreliance on an export economy that made it vulnerable to <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/10/news/economy/south-korea-economy-president-park-out/">economic retaliation</a>. </p>
<h2>4. Trust-building and constitutional reform</h2>
<p>Moon painted himself as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-koreas-next-president-faces-a-belligerent-north-and-a-confused-us-77126">antidote to Park’s corrupt</a>, authoritarian administration. But that scandal is just the tip of the iceberg. The movement that brought millions into the streets of Seoul <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-07/s-koreans-want-new-leader-to-create-jobs-minus-corruption">wants political and institutional reform</a> with greater transparency and more popular participation. </p>
<p>Moon must work to rebuilding trust between the people and the political elite. Constitutional reform is needed to end the country’s imperial presidency and return power to the National Assembly. This is a key step to bring people back into the political process and give them an effective voice. </p>
<p>The frustration many South Koreans feel with collusion and graft pushed Moon to victory. The question is: Can he distinguish himself from a decade of conservative, pro-big business presidents without being labeled a North Korean sympathizer? Or will he end up yet another in a growing list of disgraced South Korean leaders?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77422/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An aggressive neighbor to the north, a sputtering economy at home – and two more thorny issues facing South Korea’s new president.Markus Bell, Anthropologist and Lecturer in Korean and Japanese studies, University of SheffieldMarco Milani, Postdoctoral Scholar, Korean Studies Institute, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/763972017-05-08T06:25:46Z2017-05-08T06:25:46ZSouth Korea’s new president will face challenges from all directions<p>On May 9, South Koreans will vote for their next president. Whoever wins the election will have to face serious domestic and international challenges.</p>
<p>It’s been almost six months since a <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37820112">political scandal engulfed</a> then-president Park Geun-hye and three months since the Constitutional Court made the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/10/south-korea-president-park-geun-hye-constitutional-court-impeachment">decision to impeach her</a>. Because Park was not able to complete her term, which was supposed to end in February 2018, this election has had a hasty campaign and transition schedule. </p>
<p>The new president’s tenure will start immediately from May 10. </p>
<h2>Domestic factors</h2>
<p>The country’s conservatives have become fragmented because of Park Geun-hye’s impeachment and loss of the ruling party’s political legitimacy. This is a new feature in the country’s 30-year-old democracy. </p>
<p>Traditionally, conservative candidates have been able to garner <a href="http://asiafoundation.org/2017/03/15/snap-election-south-korea-need-know/">more than 45% of votes</a>. Other than the ten years from 1998 to 2007 when the progressive Kim Dae-jung, of the National Congress for New Politics, and Roh Moo-hyun, of the Millennium Democratic Party, were in power, the country’s conservative party has dominated national politics, despite a number of name changes. </p>
<p>But Park’s impeachment has split it into two factions. They comprise those who were <a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/south-koreas-struggling-ruling-saenuri-party-changes-its-name-to-the-liberal-korea">against Park’s impeachment and remained</a> in the newly named Liberal Korea Party, and those who <a href="http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2017/01/24/0200000000AEN20170124000951315.html">voted for the impeachment and created</a> the Bareun Party. </p>
<p>This implosion of the ruling party has left many conservative voters confused about which party and candidate to support.</p>
<p>This support has wandered from Ban Ki-moon (the former UN secretary-general who was regarded as one of the strongest conservative candidates but who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/01/world/asia/ban-ki-moon-president-south-korea.html">decided against running on February 1</a>) to Hwang Kyo-ahn, the acting president, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/world/asia/south-korea-election-park-geun-hye.html?_r=1">who also chose not to run</a> in spite of his popularity among conservatives.</p>
<p>Support then shifted from a centrist left Ahn Hee-jung (governor of the western province of South Chungcheong), who <a href="http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Policy-Politics/Centrist-Ahn-quickly-gaining-support-in-South-Korea-election">lost his party’s primaries</a>, to Ahn Chul-soo (the centrist People’s Party’s candidate) and Hong Jun-pyo (the Liberal Korea Party’s candidate). </p>
<p>Conservative voters have thus become an unpredictable variable in the election.</p>
<p>In what is – theoretically, at least – a positive for Korean democracy, this election also has an unusually large number of candidates. In all, <a href="http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2017/04/14/0200000000AEN20170414002552315.html">15 candidates had registered</a>, and 13 are now running. But only the five candidates from parties that already have multiple seats in the National Assembly are regarded as contenders. </p>
<p>Their ideological spectrum is very wide: from far-right Hong Jun-pyo (Liberal Korea Party) and conservative Yoo Seung-min (Bareun Party) through to centrist Ahn Cheol-soo (People’s Party), moderate left Moon Jae-in (Minjoo Party) and left Shim Sang-jung (Justice Party). </p>
<p>Other than <a href="http://time.com/4749915/south-korea-moon-jae-in-polls-election/">Moon’s consistently high approval rating</a> since Park’s impeachment, the other candidates’ approval has fluctuated, especially <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-04/13/c_136206646.htm">after heated television debates</a>. </p>
<p>One of the most challenging tasks for the new president will be how to effectively govern the fragmented country. Korean society is divided into those who want fundamental political and economic reform, and those who remain sympathetic to Park. And whoever wins the election is likely to prevail with a small margin. </p>
<p>What’s more, the National Assembly will remain divided until the next legislative election in April 2020. None of the major candidates’ parties has more than 150 seats (the total number of seats is 300 and, under the National Assembly Advancement Act, even the majority party cannot force through legislation without <a href="http://thediplomat.com/2014/09/the-tyranny-of-the-minority-in-south-korea/">agreement of 60% of the house (180 votes)</a>. </p>
<p>Front-runner Moon Jae-in’s Minjoo Party has only 119 seats. So even though he looks likely to win the election, he and his party will have to negotiate with other parties to pass legislation.</p>
<h2>International implications</h2>
<p>And then there are the myriad international challenges. </p>
<p>The first will be managing the country’s alliance with the United States and its unpredictable new president. When the Park Geun-hye administration announced the deploying of the anti-missile Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system in July 2013, it <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-thaad-protest-idUSKCN10Q0U0">triggered a major backlash</a> in the local community.</p>
<p>The announcement also <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-usa-thaad-china-idUSKBN16709W">hurt the historically good relations</a> with Beijing, which <a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/03/06/Economist-South-Korea-vulnerable-to-China-retaliation-for-THAAD/2171488822054/">retaliated with economic measures</a> targeting Korean businesses. Moon’s stance toward THAAD has been <a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/top-south-korean-presidential-candidate-moon-jae-in-would-review-thaad-process">lukewarm and ambivalent</a>, so if he wins the election, Beijing might push his administration to review the decision. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Trump Administration <a href="http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20170418000713">wants to review and reform</a> the Korea-US free trade agreement. Ratified by both countries in 2011, it was the largest trade deal for the US since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993. What the US administration wants to change is unclear, but it is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnbrinkley/2017/04/18/pence-tells-koreans-us-wants-to-reform-korea-us-free-trade-agreement-but-theres-nothing-to-reform/#632fc8f37d11">causing anxiety among South Korean businesses</a>, especially as the country’s <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/49dafdec-0b5d-11e6-b0f1-61f222853ff3">economy is slowing</a>. </p>
<p>Last but not least, there’s North Korea. Threats from the reclusive regime have been on the rise in recent months, <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/3/north-korea-missiles-can-defeat-us-defense-systems/">with regular missile tests</a> and its continuing development of nuclear weapons. The prospects of <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/13/north-koreas-sixth-nuclear-test.html">the nation’s sixth nuclear test</a> and of a US pre-emptive strike are <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/13/risk-of-miscalculation-on-korean-peninsula-could-unleash-fatal-consequences.html">causing worry in the southern part</a> of the Korean peninsula.</p>
<p>Kim Dae-jung’s Sunshine Policy, which emphasised inter-Korean cooperation and <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2000/dae-jung-facts.html">won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000</a>, has <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/19/south.korea.sunshine.policy/">been criticised</a> because it’s thought North Korea earned time and capital as a result and used both for its missile and nuclear program.</p>
<p>Moon Jae-inis widely expected to win the election. His Minjoo Party, following the convoluted splitting and renaming of political parties in South Korea, is related to Kim’s. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/south-korea-president-north-korea-relations-2017-3">Conservatives are worried</a> that Moon may try to restart inter-Korean dialogue or rapprochement in spite of tough sanctions facing North Korea for its arms programs. </p>
<p>South Korea’s new president will have much on his plate come May 10. Balancing domestic expectations and delicate relations with the country’s neighbours while trying to deal with North Korea’s race to become a nuclear power will make for a challenging five-year term.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76397/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eunjung Lim does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Balancing domestic expectations and delicate relations with neighbours while trying to deal with North Korea’s race to become a nuclear power will make for a challenging five-year term.Eunjung Lim, Lecturer, Johns Hopkins UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/749802017-03-31T06:24:15Z2017-03-31T06:24:15ZWhat South Korean president Park’s political demise means for the region’s geopolitics<p>South Korea’s former president, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/30/world/asia/park-geun-hye-south-korea-arrest.html?emc=edit_mbe_20170331&nl=morning-briefing-europe&nlid=64524812&te=1&_r=0">Park Geun-hye, has been arrested</a> on charges including extortion, bribery and abuse of power over <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39335211">an influence-peddling scandal</a> that led to her impeachment by the National Assembly in December 2016. That decision was upheld by the Constitutional Court in March.</p>
<p>An election to decide on her replacement will be held on May 9, and it could see profound changes in South Korean foreign policy. </p>
<p><a href="http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/787054.html">According to opinion polls, the most likely person to be elected</a> president is opposition leader Moon Jae-in, of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea. A civil rights lawyer (and former Special Forces paratrooper during his military service), Moon was the campaign manager and chief of staff for his friend and political mentor, former president Roh Mu-hyun (February 2003 to March 2004 and May 2004 to February 2008). </p>
<p>A year after he left office, Roh died by jumping off a mountain cliff; his brother was indicted for corruption, and he and other members of his family had been under investigation. </p>
<p>Despite his ties to Roh, if Moon still manages to win the election by riding the wave of opprobrium against Park’s conservative Liberal Korea Party, he will <a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2078081/moon-jae-could-become-south-koreas-next-leader-he-too-soft-job">confront serious domestic and foreign policy challenges</a>. </p>
<h2>A broad mandate</h2>
<p>Moon’s potential mandate will encompass his calls for <a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-samsung-and-south-korea-in-cracking-down-on-corruption-74383">reform of conglomerates</a>, known in South Korea as <em>chaebol</em>. The head of the biggest of these conglomerates <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/17/choi-gate-samsung-heir-lee-jae-yong-formally-arrested-for-corruption">Lee Jae-yong was arrested in February</a> for allegedly paying millions of dollars in bribes to Park’s friend and key player in the scandal Choi Soon-sil, who is also in custody. </p>
<p>Moon will need to address the nation’s worsening economic inequality, as well as employment insecurity and subsequent cost-of-living pressures that <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-09/korea-s-park-impeached-as-protesters-vent-anger-over-corruption">lay behind the public outrage</a> and mass demonstrations which led to Park’s ousting.</p>
<p>In foreign affairs, <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/03/11/national/politics-diplomacy/parks-downfall-muddles-japans-options-comfort-women-issue-north-korea/#.WNotARJ968V">Moon may seek to renegotiate the deal</a> made by Park’s government at the end of 2015 with Japan, which promised compensation payments for the wartime abuse of Korean women as sex slaves (euphemistically known as “comfort women”). The deal is already under strain, as Japan’s ambassador to South Korea was recalled in February <a href="https://theconversation.com/japan-and-south-koreas-latest-row-could-have-deeper-consequences-71044">over a statue commemorating the sex slaves</a> being placed outside the Japanese consulate in Busan. Similar statues have since appeared in other cities around the world.</p>
<p>Any deterioration in relations between Japan and South Korea will again frustrate long-running <a href="http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201703230047.html">diplomatic efforts by the United States to reconcile</a> its key Northeast Asian military allies. <a href="http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20161124/p2a/00m/0na/008000c">Recently increased security cooperation</a>, particularly in intelligence sharing, may also be under threat.</p>
<p>The most significant foreign policy issue to confront Moon will be relations with the ever-belligerent Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and the <a href="http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2016/09/120_213610.html">US deployment to South Korea of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense</a> (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile system, decided on by the Obama administration in July 2016. </p>
<p>Moon has expressed a <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/03/12/asia-pacific/politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific/ex-special-forces-soldier-top-presidential-aide-moon-lead-replace-ousted-south-korean-leader/">desire to improve relations with the North</a>, and said he is willing to visit Pyongyang to do so. This raises the prospect of <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2000/dae-jung-facts.html">restoring the “Sunshine policy” of the Kim Dae-jung</a> (1998-2003) and Roh Mu-hyun governments, which <a href="http://thediplomat.com/2016/07/when-sunshine-ruled-on-the-korean-peninsula/">saw extensive trade relations</a> between the two separated countries from 1998 to 2008, including significant investment by South Korean companies, and family reunions and tourist visits to the North. </p>
<h2>Regional implications</h2>
<p>Under the oppressive rule of its authoritarian leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea would certainly exploit Moon’s ambivalent position on THAAD. Along with a rowdy anti-THAAD protest movement in South Korea, <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/12/new-south-korean-president-may-warm-to-north-korea.html">Kim could press for him to withdraw it</a> as a precondition for any chance of resuming improved relations.</p>
<p>THAAD is also firmly resisted by China, which fears the system’s powerful radar will be <a href="http://contemporarysecuritypolicy.org/2017/02/07/what-really-bothers-china-about-thaad-missile-defense/">used to monitor and potentially interdict</a> its own strategic missile forces. <a href="http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2017/03/30/russias-stake-in-the-thaad-debate/">Russia is similarly opposed</a>, despite US declarations that THAAD is solely to counter the North Korean missile threat. </p>
<p>There is hence a risk that THAAD deployment may encourage China, North Korea, and Russia to <a href="http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a25752/all-about-thaad-the-missile-killer-straining-us-south-korean-chinese-ties/">expand their nuclear arsenals further</a>. </p>
<p>China has already taken a hostile posture towards South Korea over THAAD. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/china-south-korea-economic-boycott-protests-over-thaad-missile-system-2017-3?r=US&IR=T">Various products and services from the country</a>, including highly popular television dramas and tours by K-pop performers have been banned; boycotts by Chinese tourists are being encouraged; and stores run in China by the <em>chaebol</em> Lotte have been closed for “safety inspections”. South Korea has <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-china-thaad-idUSKBN16R03D">protested these actions</a> to the World Trade Organization. </p>
<p>Moon is thus already under immense pressure from China, which poses a dire threat to any prospect of the economic recovery he hopes to restore. Should he become president, Moon will certainly head off promptly to Beijing in an attempt to assuage China’s concerns. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the powerful South Korean military and intelligence service, the KCIA, would likely join the US <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/07/world/asia/thaad-missile-defense-us-south-korea-china.html?_r=0">in trying to convince Moon to hold firm</a> on THAAD deployment.</p>
<h2>North Korean concerns</h2>
<p>On his first trip to Asia – covering Japan, South Korea and China – North Korea’s missile threat was US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s dominant concern. Tillerson declared in Tokyo and Seoul that past US policy towards North Korea had failed, and <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/03/16/tillerson-says-new-approach-needed-denuclearising-north-korea">a “new approach” was needed</a>. </p>
<p>Although no further details were offered, Tillerson stated that “all options were on the table”, implying that <a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-fg-tillerson-asia-20170317-story.html">preemptive military strikes by the US against North Korea</a> may be under consideration.</p>
<p>The recent series of North Korean missile tests is already the most pressing foreign policy issue confronting the Trump administration in Asia. In 2016, North Korea conducted 24 missile tests, and two nuclear weapon tests, in <a href="https://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sc12603.doc.htm">repeated violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions</a>. </p>
<p>The first test of 2017 was conducted on February 11, during <a href="https://theconversation.com/has-abe-got-trumps-measure-golf-diplomacy-puts-japan-back-on-the-green-72739">Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit</a> to the United States. On March 6, a salvo of four missiles was launched by North Korea towards the Sea of Japan, <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/03/09/national/politics-diplomacy/north-korean-missile-splashdown-closest-far-japans-mainland-government-says/">landing the closest so far</a> to the main Japanese islands. The <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/06/asia/thaad-arrival-south-korea/">US began deployment of the THAAD system</a> in South Korea a day later.</p>
<p>The most recent missile test on March 22 was <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/north-korea-fails-missile-test-south-170322041232058.html">said by the US and South Korea to have been a failure</a>. It came just after North Korea declared a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-24/north-korea-claims-successful-solid-fuel-rocket-engine-test/7274542">successful test of a solid-fuel rocket engine</a>, which is vital to its plans for developing operational intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles. These would – theoretically, at least – be capable of reaching mainland United States.</p>
<p>But despite US President Donald Trump’s recent condemnation of North Korea “<a href="http://time.com/4706269/trump-north-korea-kim-acting-badly/">acting very, very badly</a>”, his administration is confronted with the same dilemma faced by all others since armistice was declared in the Korean War in 1953.</p>
<p>Any military action to punish North Korea risks escalation into a massively destructive war that could engulf South Korea and Japan, and threaten the stability of the Asia-Pacific region and the global economy. While the DPRK would face its own destruction in such a scenario, <a href="https://theconversation.com/north-korea-and-the-dangers-of-trumps-diplomacy-free-asia-strategy-74494">it has long calculated</a> that the US would not risk such an escalation.</p>
<p>A withdrawal of THAAD from South Korea would be a clear strategic gain for North Korea, China, and Russia. To compensate, the United States would have no alternative but to deploy it to Japan, something Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would be more than happy with. </p>
<p>Beyond her own personal humiliation, the ramifications of Park’s fall are already reverberating from domestic South Korean politics into the fraught geopolitics of Northeast Asia.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74980/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Mark does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Beyond her own personal humiliation, the ramifications of Park’s fall are already reverberating from domestic South Korean politics into the fraught geopolitics of Northeast Asia.Craig Mark, Professor, Kyoritsu Women's UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/743912017-03-15T11:41:17Z2017-03-15T11:41:17ZTime for South Korea to beef up the role of the prime minister<p>When South Korea’s Constitutional Court finally upheld the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/09/south-koreas-parliament-votes-to-impeach-president-park-geun-hye">impeachment</a> of President Park Geun-hye, ousted for cronyism and corruption, the massed <a href="http://www.dw.com/en/mass-anti-park-protest-in-seoul-ahead-of-impeachment-vote/a-36625977">protesters</a> who spent months demanding her resignation breathed a collective sigh of relief. Their country can now emerge intact from a serious political crisis – and the light of its democracy still burns bright. Or does it?</p>
<p>Park’s impeachment, triggered by the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/01/choi-soon-sil-arrested-made-in-south-korean-presidential-cronyism-scandal">Choi Soon-sil corruption scandal</a>, wasn’t just a career-ending personal scandal; it also revealed fundamental flaws in South Korea’s constitutional setup that a change of president alone cannot fix. </p>
<p>The country has already been without an elected leader for three months, and there are still two more months to go until the public votes for Park’s replacement. This could scarcely be happening at a more inconvenient time, since the country faces all sorts of other challenges. </p>
<p>Among them are President Trump’s <a href="http://www.voanews.com/a/trump-uncertainty-south-korea-nuclear/3691290.html">flip-flopping</a> on US support for Seoul in the face of North Korea’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-we-really-be-so-afraid-of-a-nuclear-north-korea-71855">nuclear tests</a> and missile launches; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/07/world/asia/thaad-missile-defense-us-south-korea-china.html">Chinese anger</a> with South Korea for deploying the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defence) missile system; and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-06/prosecutor-accuses-samsung-s-lee-of-conspiring-to-hide-bribes">corruption</a> charges linking Park’s office to the industrial heart of the Korean economy. </p>
<p>Combined with the uncertain political climate, these all threaten to send the country spiralling into the abyss while lumbered with a system of government that’s showing some dangerous cracks. </p>
<p>Public attitudes to Park were always deeply divided, not just on the question of trust – or rather, the lack of it – but along generational lines, too. For many older South Koreans, a vote for Park was a vote for her father, assassinated president and strongman <a href="http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2054405,00.html">Park Chung-hee</a>. In the younger Park, they saw a symbol of economic success through enormous sacrifice. Her impeachment undermines their trust in the Korean political system and their faith that the sacrifices were worth it.</p>
<p>For those who have come of age in democratic Korea, Park’s impeachment is an appropriate end to a presidency that threatened to turn back the clock to the bad old days of high-handed rule and human rights abuses.</p>
<p>Corruption is just part of the problem. Park’s tenure was plagued by a series of crises and controversies, including infringements of <a href="http://time.com/4697736/south-korea-president-park-geun-hye-impeached/">freedom of speech</a>, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6f7f08d6-ccc8-11e6-864f-20dcb35cede2">blacklists</a> of prominent cultural figures, and allegations that she bungled the response to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/29/south-korea-ferry-boss-given-seven-years-jail-for-sewol-disaster">Sewol ferry disaster</a>.</p>
<p>These are exactly the sort of political divisions that a democratic system is supposed to help channel and reconcile. But the Choi scandal tested that system to breaking point: it brought raw emotion into the public realm in a way not seen since the pro-democracy movement of the 1980s, and Korean democracy was unable to properly channel that massive outpouring of emotions. With that failure, it proved that the Korean Constitution, the country’s last bastion of democratic legitimacy, doesn’t hold up under pressure. </p>
<h2>The imperial presidency</h2>
<p>Much of the problem stems from the way power is divided at the top. Chapter four of the South Korean Constitution regulates the role and powers of the executive. This system is “semi-presidential”, meaning that power is shared between a popularly elected president and a prime minister confirmed by the National Assembly. Or at least, that’s how it works on paper. In reality, the system empowers the president. </p>
<p>As in other countries with semi-presidential systems (such as France or Romania), the balance of political power is strongly influenced by the way the constitution is interpreted, meaning political culture plays a crucial role in determining how the system works in practice. South Korea’s particular political culture has created a sort of <a href="http://search.proquest.com/openview/7f3ae5db7321107830d24762339cb92e/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=46815">imperial presidency</a> in which the president controls every aspect of the executive and their own party, giving them a strong grip on the legislature.</p>
<p>This is precisely the dynamic that played out in the Choi scandal, which lit a flame under the public discontent that had been simmering in Korea’s body politic. Park and her party were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/14/south-korea-elections-conservative-party-loses-majority">defeated</a> in the legislative elections of April 2016, underlining the level of public discontent with her leadership, but she ploughed on with business as usual. The anger, resentment and suspicion that greeted her actions needed a release valve, but only Choi’s arrest ultimately provided it.</p>
<p>This is not a trivial problem. Arguably the most important part of a democratic state’s constitutional framework is to provide a safety net in times of constitutional and political crisis. In this respect, the South Korean constitution failed.</p>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/2017/03/10/south-korea-shows-the-world-how-democracy-is-done/?utm_term=.62efebbc3191">commentators</a>, comparing South Korea to North Korea, have hailed Park’s impeachment as itself indicative of a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/09/world/asia/park-geun-hye-impeached-south-korea.html?_r=0">successful democracy</a>. But the system was failing to respond to the political will of the people long before the Choi scandal broke. Small surprise then that it ultimately failed so badly as to leave the country without an elected leader during a time of intense regional instability.</p>
<p>Clearly, the system needs to be fixed. But instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater and reforming the whole constitutional system, South Korea must simply decide how it really wants its political system to work. Given the security threat from North Korea, a strong leadership with popular legitimacy and complete control of the military is probably the best option. But at the same time, the country would benefit from upgrading the role of prime minister from first head on the chopping block to a position of real power and responsibility to the legislature. </p>
<p>A meaningful counterweight to the president, a beefed-up prime ministerial office would introduce some badly needed pluralism and openness to government, and empower the National Assembly and the party system. That in turn would give the country’s civil society an effective voice, and channel raw public emotions into the constitutional system.</p>
<p>But as yet, no such fundamental change is afoot. Park continues to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/12/south-korea-presidential-frontrunner-stresses-need-to-embrace-north">deny</a> wrongdoing, and the candidates to replace her are lining up for May’s elections. In the meantime, the domestic and international challenges are mounting, and all eyes are still on South Korea.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74391/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The euphoria many South Koreans feel at the demise of Park Geun-hye is offset by worries about the future of their political system.Markus Bell, Anthropologist and Lecturer in Korean and Japanese studies, University of SheffieldMarco Milani, Postdoctoral Scholar, Korean Studies Institute, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/743832017-03-13T14:35:31Z2017-03-13T14:35:31ZLessons from Samsung and South Korea in cracking down on corruption<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160496/original/image-20170313-19247-1r0ipby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Protestors in South Korea calling for punishment.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sagase48 / Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Korea’s scandal-plagued president, Park Geun-hye has been <a href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/03/09/world/asia/park-geun-hye-impeached-south-korea.html">forced from office</a>. Park was impeached by the country’s constitutional court <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2017/03/09/samsung-linked-scandal-takes-down-south-koreas-president/">over accusations</a> that she helped a friend win bribes from Samsung and other South Korean conglomerates. </p>
<p>The impeachment follows swiftly on from the arrest of Lee Jae-yong, the de-facto head of Samsung, the country’s biggest conglomerate. He is <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39214545">on trial</a> for a string of corruption charges, including bribery and embezzlement, linked to Park’s impeachment. He has denied any wrongdoing.</p>
<p>Prosecutors allege that Lee donated 41 billion won (US$36m) to non-profit organisations linked to Park’s close friend and advisor, Choi Soon-sil, to secure government support for a merger that would help him to the top of the Samsung group. </p>
<p>Choi, meanwhile, is in detention, accused of using her personal ties with the president to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/20/choi-gate-prosecutors-accuse-south-korean-president-of-collusion">meddle in state affairs</a> and encourage local firms to also donate millions of dollars to non-profit foundations under her control. </p>
<p>All parties deny having done anything wrong. But for a country that ranked the 37th least corrupt out of 167 nations in the <a href="https://www.transparency.org/cpi2015/">Corruption Perceptions Index 2015</a>, this is a major blow. And South Koreans are up in arms – <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-korean-protests-the-first-to-bring-down-a-president-in-a-long-history-of-civic-activism-69162">hundreds of thousands</a> have protested over the reports of corruption and called for Park’s impeachment. </p>
<h2>The mechanics of corruption</h2>
<p>Extensive conflicts of interests, intricate webs of connections and widespread clientelism – where goods or services are exchanged for political support – are the distinctive features of corruption. And they are all too common in the <a href="http://harvardlawreview.org/2010/11/on-political-corruption">political world</a> across the globe. </p>
<p>In the absence of proper regulations and <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Globalization-of-Corporate-Governance/Dignam-Galanis/p/book/9781138272750">corporate governance measures</a>, intimate relationships between economics and politics can lead to corruption. The mechanics is simple and intuitively understandable: through the exchange of favours between business and government, the former can distort political outcomes as a result of the undue influence of their vast wealth. </p>
<p>Besides the devastating effects that corruption may produce on <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/governance/brief/anti-corruption">the poor and the economic growth</a>, the distortion of political outcomes may also exert a series of adverse effects on daily business practice. The advantages that a company may gain from a corrupt political system can harm competition. Not only is it bad for competitors, it tends to harm consumers too, as lack of competition <a href="http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/basics/suppdem.htm">typically drives up prices</a>.</p>
<h2>Culture change</h2>
<p>To counter a distorted relationship between business and government, it is not enough to wait until criminal prosecutions are possible. Not least because there is a whole grey area in which businesses can legitimately influence politics – through <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/mar/12/lobbying-10-ways-corprations-influence-government">lobbying</a>. </p>
<p>Instead, we need to change the way in which companies operate and enhance a culture of anti-corruption. For instance, it could be possible to impose on corporations a transparency rule where they must publicly declare if they or their lobbyists, directly or indirectly, have on the payroll former politicians or public officials’ close relatives.</p>
<p>The way that corporations are structured is also an important factor in how open they to corruption. Most companies are organised according to a military model, which is incredibly hierarchical. They adopt a <a href="http://www.nuff.ox.ac.uk/users/klemperer/IO_Files/production,%20information%20costs%20Alchian%20and%20Demsetz.pdf">logic of control</a>, which encourages loyalty and obedience to superiors and the company as a whole, but dissuades individualism. These kinds of <a href="https://chomsky.info/20000516/">tyrannical structures</a> foster a culture that passively accepts misconduct. </p>
<p>A recent example of this is Rolls Royce, which recently paid £671m to settle bribery claims that dogged the company for years. An <a href="https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/sfo-v-rolls-royce.pdf">investigation by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office</a> into the company revealed that it had an extremely hierarchical and disciplined structure, which ensured high levels of internal confidentiality and facilitated corrupt practices for several years.</p>
<p>If this is true, the particular corporate structure of Samsung could well have played a role in the present scandal. Samsung is a business conglomerate characterised by the <a href="http://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_globalstudies/vol1/iss1/6/">concentration of economic power</a>. In fact, in South Korean culture it is called a chaebol, <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/the-chaebols-the-rise-of-south-koreas-mighty-conglomerates/">which means dynasty</a>. </p>
<p>Chaebols have been <a href="https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/11/13/samsung-and-the-south-korean-success-story/?_r=0">central to the success</a> of South Korea’s development and economy today. Each one is controlled by a founding family that, although typically holds only a small portion of the total equity, exerts an unchallenged power within the group. The chairmen are absolute rulers and key managerial posts are almost always given to their relatives. It is this kind of culture of unswerving loyalty that <a href="https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/apec/sites/apec/files/files/discussion/PSLee.PDF">research indicates</a> makes it easy for a company’s top management to be enmeshed in corrupt practices.</p>
<p>If we want really to fight corruption in the business world we must also have the courage to transform the internal structure of big companies. Their efficiency must be safeguarded, but the individualism and accountability of employees must be enhanced at the same time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74383/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Costantino Grasso does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fighting corruption in the business world requires transforming the internal structure and culture of big companies.Costantino Grasso, Lecturer in Business Management and Law, University of East LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/700952016-12-12T10:17:32Z2016-12-12T10:17:32ZSouth Korea’s scandal reignites the global debate on corruption<p>Until its president, Park Geun-hye, was <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-38259984">impeached</a> over alleged corruption and cronyism, South Korea seemed like a relatively virtuous country as far as corruption goes. </p>
<p>In the <a href="https://www.transparency.org/cpi2015/">Corruption Perceptions Index 2015</a> the country is ranked 37th among 167 countries, with a score of 56 on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). In March 2008, it ratified the <a href="https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/">United Nations Convention against Corruption</a>, which requires adhering countries to criminalise corruption and establish adequate measures to prevent such an illicit phenomenon. It’s also a member of the <a href="http://www.oecd.org/corruption/oecdantibriberyconvention.htm">OECD Anti-bribery Convention</a>, which establishes legally binding standards to outlaw the bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions.</p>
<p>But then came the Park scandal, which outraged South Koreans and saw <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-korean-protests-the-first-to-bring-down-a-president-in-a-long-history-of-civic-activism-69162">hundreds of thousands</a> take to the streets in protest. </p>
<p>Specifically, Park stands accused of allowing her confidante Choi Soon-sil to exploit their relationship to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-37814874">interfere in state affairs</a> and coerce business into <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/26/world/asia/korea-park-geun-hye-protests.html?_r=0">donating large sums</a> to foundations under her control. Parliament eventually <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/09/south-koreas-parliament-votes-to-impeach-president-park-geun-hye">voted to impeach Park</a> with more than two-thirds of MPs in favour.</p>
<p>This is an epochal political scandal by South Korean standards, but its ramifications are much more global than that. The defenestration of an elected G20 president because of corruption charges is a chance to reignite the global debate on corruption and how to deal with it.</p>
<h2>Quid-pro-quo</h2>
<p>The Park affair appears to be a case of the most common type of corruption: the misuse of power in order to obtain something of value for a private interest. And while no sector of society is immune to corruption, this criminal phenomenon is particularly endemic in politics. </p>
<p>Every country, regardless of political tradition, culture or socio-economic status, has seen official bribery, misappropriation of public funds and misuse of public functions. (As <a href="http://oll.libertyfund.org/quote/214">Lord Acton</a> famously put it in the late 19th century: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.) And of all the forms corruption takes, this is one of the most difficult to eradicate. </p>
<p>Quid-pro-quo political corruption is a means of channelling personal influence and getting advantages from it. And because it mainly affects a country’s dominant class, it has a way of engulfing people with enough power to tackle it. This also explains why the most effective legal instruments adopted at both the domestic and international level have focused their power on the act of bribing foreign public officials, not domestic officials.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149445/original/image-20161209-31405-pa8dyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/149445/original/image-20161209-31405-pa8dyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149445/original/image-20161209-31405-pa8dyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149445/original/image-20161209-31405-pa8dyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149445/original/image-20161209-31405-pa8dyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149445/original/image-20161209-31405-pa8dyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/149445/original/image-20161209-31405-pa8dyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An offer you can’t refuse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/pic-344328842/stock-photo-businessman-putting-plain-brown-envelope-in-jacket-pocket.html?src=M-i6tx0cZ9OXxzvjAzv9og-1-15">SpeedKingz</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Park scandal also reveals that despite its sterling political progress over the decades, South Korea is still in the grip of a corrupt political and industrial elite. Park is after all a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20787271">political blueblood</a>, daughter of former president Park Chung-hee – the military strongman and controversial leader who took power in a coup. </p>
<p>The sort of cronyism Park has come to embody is a worldwide feature of politics, and it has left electorates all over the democratic world deeply disillusioned with their leaders. Combined with all the other problems eating away at democratic legitimacy, official corruption wears down voters’ resistance to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/15/us/politics/trump-speech-highlights.html?_r=0">populism</a> of the sort that saw Donald Trump win the US election, or the UK vote to leave the EU.</p>
<h2>All hands on deck</h2>
<p>There’s another, more left-field lesson: this episode should put an end to the surprisingly commonplace idea that women are intrinsically less corrupt than men. </p>
<p>This sounds like a strangely arbitrary assumption, but it is pervasive enough to be sometimes explicitly cited as a basis for policy. <a href="http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/09/30/how-to-curb-police-corruption-hire-more-female-cops/">Mexico’s new anti-corruption efforts</a> have seen hundreds of women hired to take charge of sanctioning traffic violations because men are thought to be too susceptible to bribes. </p>
<p>Now, it’s true that corruption is far from gender-blind in every sense. As <a href="http://www.transparency.org/news/feature/empowering_women_against_corruption">Transparency International</a> recently pointed out, patriarchal societies and economies make women more vulnerable than men to the impact of corruption, which limits their chances to get involved in politics, earn and save money, and use public services. The sight of more women taking power in public life is often a sign that a society is tending towards transparency and fairness. But the Park scandal should disabuse us of the strange notion that women are intrinsically less corruption-prone than men. </p>
<p>If a state suffers from systemic corruption, anyone elevated to power there can easily be enmeshed in corrupt activities regardless of their age or gender. To fight corruption effectively, we have to change prevailing cultures of elistism and clientalism. The public, private and philanthropic sectors alike have to be cleared of appointees who did not obtain their roles on merit.</p>
<p>This must be anti-corruption authorities’ primary aim. And if it sounds incredibly difficult, that might be because it demands the efforts of the same political class that benefits from the problem it is trying to solve.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70095/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Costantino Grasso does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>One of the world’s cleaner democracies just threw out its president for corruption. How can countries do a better job of keeping their leaders clean?Costantino Grasso, Lecturer in Business Management and Law, University of East LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/691622016-11-30T07:44:27Z2016-11-30T07:44:27ZSouth Korean protests the first to bring down a president in a long history of civic activism<p>The president of South Korea has <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/29/world/asia/park-geun-hye-south-korea-resign.html?emc=edit_na_20161129&nlid=64524812&ref=headline&_r=0">announced she is willing to resign</a> before the end of her five-year term. Park Geun-Hye made the announcement during her third televised apology to the nation, over a corruption scandal that has gripped the country for weeks. </p>
<p>She has left it to the National Assembly to decide the timing of her departure for a smooth transition of power.</p>
<p>The move comes <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/27/world/asia/south-korea-park-geun-hye-impeachment.html?emc=edit_ae_20161127&nl=todaysheadlines-asia&nlid=64524812&_r=1">only two days after her refusal to step down</a> and has been interpreted as an attempt to head off an impending impeachment in the National Assembly, and as a concession to a series of large protests by South Koreans. </p>
<p>Despite the cold and snow, South Koreans held what is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/26/world/asia/korea-park-geun-hye-protests.html?emc=edit_th_20161127&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=64524812">thought to be the largest protest yet</a> on Saturday November 26, calling on President Park to resign. She has been struggling with an ongoing influence-peddling scandal involving a long-term friend and confidant, Choi Soon-sil, which may <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/27/world/asia/south-korea-park-geun-hye-impeachment.html?emc=edit_ae_20161127&nl=todaysheadlines-asia&nlid=64524812&_r=1">still lead to her prosecution</a>. </p>
<h2>Growing protests</h2>
<p>The protest was the latest in a series of marches that have been held <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/13/world/asia/korea-park-geun-hye-protests.html">every Saturday since the scandal</a> broke in October. Crowds have included teenagers in school uniforms, young parents carrying strollers, senior citizens, and even opposition party leaders, all holding candles and signs calling for the president to stand down. </p>
<p>Although organisers and police have frequently been at odds about the number of people attending, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-26/hundreds-of-thousands-of-koreans-protest-against-park-geun-hye/8060800?WT.mc_id=newsmail&WT.tsrc=Newsmail">media reports have noted</a> that the gatherings are the largest political protests since the <a href="http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/south-koreans-win-mass-campaign-democracy-1986-87">1986-1987 rallies that brought about democratisation</a> after years of authoritarianism. </p>
<p>Alleged corruption scandals involving the cronies and families of presidents are <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-you-should-know-about-south-koreas-political-scandal-the-same-old-story-but-with-a-twist-68722">not unusual in South Korean politics</a>, but they have not usually led to such a strong public response. Former presidents have all been plunged into these kinds of scandals in the latter years of their tenure. </p>
<p>The first president after democratisation in 1987, Roh Tae-Woo (1988-1993), was <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1995-11-17/news/mn-4124_1_roh-tae-woo">charged with corruption after he left office</a> and sentenced to 17 years in prison. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9705/15/skorea.scandal/">The second son of president Kim Young-Sam</a> (1993-1998) was involved in a bribery scandal in May 1997, while Kim was still in the office. A <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/20/news/son-of-kim-dae-jung-held-in-bribery-scandal.html">similar scandal</a> plagued Nobel prize-winning president Kim Dae-Jung (1998-2003) five years later. </p>
<p>Another bribery scandal involved Roh Mu-hyun (2003-2008), who was a human rights lawyer before becoming president. Roh <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/world/asia/24roh.html">killed himself in 2009</a>. </p>
<p>Park’s predecessor, Lee Myung-Bak (2008-2013), <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-18792840">also became embroiled in a bribery scandal</a> involving his elder brother. </p>
<h2>Why so angry?</h2>
<p>Despite political scandals and controversies affecting every president since South Korea’s democratisation, <a href="http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Policy-Politics/Can-Park-resign-South-Korea-s-constitution-is-unclear">every president has finished</a> their five-year term since the nation’s current constitution came into effect in 1987.</p>
<p>What’s different this time? Perhaps the involvement of Park’s confidante Choi Soon-sil, who is alleged to have extorted millions of dollars from South Korean businesses with the president’s help. Two close aides – An Chong-Bum and Jeong Ho-Seong – have <a href="http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=3026413">also been formally charged</a>. </p>
<p>Park’s supporters have dismissed the accusations against the president as a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/world/asia/park-geun-hye-south-korea-extortion-accomplice-prosecutors.html?_r=0">“witch hunt” and said the protesters are running a “people’s court”</a>. </p>
<p>Park made two other apologies – <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/29/asia/south-korea-reshuffle/">on October 25</a> and <a href="http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/focus/2016/11/04/91/1700000000AEN20161104010700315F.html">on November 4</a> – since the scandal erupted. But her <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-politics-poll-idUSKBN13603G">approval rating continued to drop</a>.</p>
<p>The protesters’ core criticism of Park is <a href="http://www.atimes.com/article/making-korea-great/">she has embarrassed the country</a>. Many have expressed their sense of betrayal by an elected leader who is <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-south-korea-us-20161114-story.html">alleged to have shared power</a> with her unelected friend. </p>
<p>Apart from the extortion charges Choi is facing, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/27/world/asia/south-korea-park-geun-hye-impeachment.html?emc=edit_ae_20161127&nl=todaysheadlines-asia&nlid=64524812&_r=1">she is thought to have</a> edited Park’s speeches, had access to confidential government documents and advised Park on what to wear.</p>
<h2>A history of civic engagement</h2>
<p>South Korea has a history of political protests and direct participation that dates from <a href="http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/south-koreans-win-mass-campaign-democracy-1986-87">even earlier than 1987</a>. </p>
<p>The All People’s Conference (<em>Manmin Kongdonghoe</em>) originally started as a <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780819199140/Dr.-Philip-Jaisohn's-Reform-Movement-1896-1898-A-Critical-Appraisal-of-the-Independence-Club">subordinate civic group of the Independence Club</a> (<em>Dongnip Hyeophoe</em>) that was an association formed by reform-minded elites in 1897. Now defunct, it evolved into a congress of Koreans in 1898. </p>
<p>Then there was <a href="http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/koreans-protest-japanese-control-march-1st-movement-1919">1919 March 1st Movement</a>, one of the earliest examples of Korean resistance against Japanese colonial rule, which began in 1910. And the 1960 <a href="http://adst.org/2013/04/the-fall-of-south-korean-strongman-syngman-rhee-april-26-1960/">April 19 Revolution</a> was a popular uprising against the Rhee Syng-Man administration’s electoral corruption. </p>
<p>It brought about Rhee’s resignation, but <a href="http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2016/05/633_155532.html">South Korea’s short-lived democracy soon ended</a> as the current president’s father, Park Chung-Hee seized power with a coup d'etat in May of the following year.</p>
<p>Civic culture clearly remains vibrant in South Korea as the mass demonstrations across the past five Saturdays illustrate. These recent protests are a sign that the South Korean people are willing and eager to play an active role in the political modernisation of their country.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69162/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eunjung Lim does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>After weeks of mass demonstrations and a growing threat of impeachment, President Park Geun-Hye has said she is willing to resign before her term ends in February 2018.Eunjung Lim, Lecturer, Johns Hopkins UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/687222016-11-18T07:24:10Z2016-11-18T07:24:10ZWhat you should know about South Korea’s political scandal: the same old story – but with a twist?<p>The <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/south-korean-president-scandal-explained-5-facts-about-controversy-surrounding-park-2441604">allegations involving South Korean President Park Geun-hye</a> and her friend of 40 years, Choi Soon-Sil, has all the hallmarks of an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/nov/02/south-korea-explainer-park-guen-hye-six-key-points-scandal-choi-soon-sil">old-fashioned scandal</a> in the country. But things are nonetheless <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/south-korea-protests-park-geun-hye-exit_us_582b3b57e4b060adb57063e1">not looking good</a> for the president.</p>
<p>The plotline is mundane: <a href="http://www.wsj.com/video/south-korean-presidents-influence-scandal-explained/672143F7-D107-4FCA-9708-3C702BB3C041.html">Choi allegedly extorted US$69 million</a> from South Korean conglomerates (known as <em>chaebol</em>), including Samsung, Hyundai, LG, Lotte, and others, for personal use – in the form of donations to two foundations she controlled.</p>
<p>If this is true, it has certainly happened before. The practice of <a href="http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/intellect/tmsd/2010/00000009/00000002/art00001">extracting slush funds from <em>chaebol</em></a> is called rent-sharing.</p>
<p>In the past, it has involved companies paying large amounts of money to the president to obtain monopoly rights, gain access to government capital, garner patents, avoid sanctions or punishments, and secure tax reductions. But since thoses bribes were often too big for financially troubled <em>chaebol</em>, they found it necessary to increase their size to multiply their earning capacity. One way to enhance revenue was to invest <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Handbook-of-Modern-Korean-History/Seth/p/book/9780415739313">heavily in new technologies while suppressing unions</a> and their demands for higher wages.</p>
<p>Ultimately, both the <em>chaebol</em> and the corrupt past governments were delighted with the result of rent-sharing. Gross domestic product rapidly increased due to massive exports of high-tech goods to foreign countries at cheap prices. And <a href="http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB22310104?l=en">rent-sharing became a driver of economic growth</a>. </p>
<h2>A long tradition</h2>
<p>Rent-sharing was <a href="http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB22310104?l=en">first devised</a> during the reign of Park Chung-hee (1961-1979), the current president’s late father. During his military dictatorship, no one could openly say anything about his friendship with <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/06/world/asia/south-koreans-ashamed-over-les-secretive-adviser.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FPark%20Geun-hye&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=collection">Choi Soon-Sil’s father, Choi Tae-Min</a>, the founder of an obscure sect called the Church of Eternal Life, and later, Crusaders to Save the Nation. </p>
<p>Reverend Choi allegedly had <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/south-koreas-president-in-crisis-over-corruption-scandals/5554630">undue influence over the dictator</a>. And when <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/28/world/asia/south-korea-choi-soon-sil.html">Park Chung-Hee was assassinated</a> by the chief of the Korea Central Intelligence Agency in 1979, <a href="https://aparc.fsi.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/KDP_Report_(final)-1.pdf">pro-democracy movements led by student activists</a> sprouted up all over the country, calling for the imprisonment of all corrupt politicians, bureaucrats, and <em>chaebol</em> owners.</p>
<p>Democratisation finally happened in 1987, after a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/22/world/south-korea-indicts-2-former-presidents-in-staging-of-1979-coup.html">second military coup in 1979</a> and the <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/05/17/asia-pacific/politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific/dying-democracy-1980-gwangju-uprising-transformed-south-korea/#.WCwi4qJ94dU">massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators</a> in the southern city of Kwangju in 1980. Despite full democratic reforms that allowed the election of civilian leaders to the presidential palace, the Blue House, civilian presidents continued to imitate the late dictator Park’s rent-sharing practices.</p>
<p>President Roh Tae Woo (1988-1992) was <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1995-11-17/news/mn-4124_1_roh-tae-woo">indicted and found guilty</a> of raising <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/17/world/ex-president-of-south-korea-is-arrested-and-apologizes-in-a-hugebribery-scandal.html">US$650 million from <em>chaebol</em> owners</a>. </p>
<p>Nobel Peace Prize-winning president Kim Dae-Jung (1998-2002) ended up having to <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1970051.stm">leave the party he founded</a> after his <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2590389.stm">three sons and close aides were found guilty of collecting money</a> from <em>chaebol</em>. The case of president Roh Moo-hyun (2003-2008) was the most tragic of all – he <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/may/24/south-korea-former-president-suicide">committed suicide while facing allegations</a> of taking US$6 million in bribes.</p>
<h2>Egregious allegations</h2>
<p>Despite its commonplace theme, the Park Geun-hye allegations seem particularly egregious to many South Koreans because it reminds them of her father’s – and Choi’s father’s – alleged misdeeds. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/06/world/asia/south-koreans-ashamed-over-les-secretive-adviser.html">They are embarrassed about this seemingly unending saga</a> consuming the unlikely figure of President Park, whose father is thought to have been assassinated for corruption that involved Choi’s father. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3930384/One-million-protesters-streets-call-South-Korean-president-stand-scandal-involving-shadowy-female-aide-links-shamanistic-cult.html">Park is refusing to step down</a> from the presidency despite <a href="http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201611120038.html">700,000 demonstrators demanding she do so</a> on November 12. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/01/choi-soon-sil-arrested-made-in-south-korean-presidential-cronyism-scandal">Choi Soon-Sil has been arrested</a> as have <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-06/park-s-former-aides-arrested-as-protesters-demand-resignation">two of Park’s former aides</a>. And, in <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37966494">a first for South Korean political history</a>, a sitting president is likely to be interrogated by prosecutors. But Park is <a href="http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1018254.shtml">doing all she can</a> to avoid this.</p>
<p>Park is accused of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/06/world/asia/south-koreans-ashamed-over-les-secretive-adviser.html">organising the Blue House for Choi’s rent-sharing practices</a>. Choi, who didn’t have any public position in the government, is alleged to have been given presidential power, even as Park <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/06/world/asia/south-koreans-ashamed-over-les-secretive-adviser.html?_r=0">severed ties with her own brother and sister</a>. What’s more, the alleged bribes collected would not have directly benefited Park; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/nov/02/south-korea-explainer-park-guen-hye-six-key-points-scandal-choi-soon-sil">but it would have benefited Choi</a> and her allies.</p>
<p>Park has been described as Choi’s “<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/31/asia/south-korea-reshuffle/">puppet</a>”, and protesters keep portraying her as such.</p>
<figure>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">South Korean protestors depict President Park Guen-Hye as her friend Choi Soon-Sil’s puppet.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Running out of time</h2>
<p>In September, the <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/09/28/asia-pacific/crime-legal-asia-pacific/tough-anti-corruption-law-takes-effect-south-korea/#.WCwvc6J94dU">South Korean legislature implemented an anti-graft law</a> (also known as the Kim Young-Ran law after the judge who drafted it) aiming to stop gift-giving in exchange for public or private preferences. It’s now discussing a new law that would <a href="http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20161107000862">allow the government to confiscate all illicit wealth</a> accrued by rent-sharing. </p>
<p>It’s unclear whether President Park Geun-hye will step down soon, if at all (her <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/25/world/asia/south-korea-constitution-park-geun-hye.html">one five-year term expires in February 2018</a>). Angry voters are promising to hold more rallies. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ecns.cn/2016/11-16/234144.shtml">Opposition and some former ruling party members are joining together</a> to start an official impeachment process in the National Assembly. And <a href="http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2016/11/07/64/0200000000AEN20161107002800315F.html">leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party</a>, who refused to resign have now been completely deserted by party members openly siding with the opposition in calling for impeachment. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the prosecutor’s office has summoned <a href="http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2016/11/116_218172.html">key Blue House staff</a>, <em>chaebol</em> <a href="http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2016/11/602_218076.html">owners who are suspected of having giving funds</a> to Choi Soon-Sil and her friends, and <a href="http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3026151&cloc=joongangdaily%7Chome%7Cnewslist1">the president herself</a>. </p>
<p>Park’s room for manoeuvre is quickly vanishing, although she’s trying hard to find a way to save face by not resigning. But current political leaders are unanimous that the president should be <a href="http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/770227.html">impeached if she doesn’t voluntarily step down</a>. </p>
<p>Park’s time is running out. She might soon have to offer her third apology to the nation, this time with her final decision.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68722/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ingyu Oh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>South Korean President Park Geun-Hye may be about to become the first national leader to be questioned by prosecutors while still in office.Ingyu Oh, Professor of Sociology, Korea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/680042016-11-15T12:21:41Z2016-11-15T12:21:41ZSouth Korea’s president is facing an uncertain future of protest and scrutiny<p>Political upheaval, mass protest, and an unpopular president facing a criminal investigation. No, not the US after the election of Donald Trump – but the very messy current situation in the public life of South Korea.</p>
<p>The government there has been led by President <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Park-Geun-Hye">Park Geun-hye</a> for the past four years. A leading member of the conservative Saenuri party, she also happens to be the daughter of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Park-Chung-Hee">Park Chung-hee</a>, the head of the country’s Cold War military dictatorship. </p>
<p>In stark contrast to her father, Park is considered a rather demure figure, reliant on her aides to formulate and implement policy. But her government was suddenly <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-37966494">thrown into a full-blown crisis</a> that has brought about a total paralysis of her presidency. </p>
<p>In October 2016 files on a discarded laptop revealed that a friend of the president (who held no public office) had been given access to confidential policy documents and briefings, provided political advice, and edited her speeches. The friend and confidante in question was <a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/choi-soon-sil-woman-heart-080713243.html">Choi Soon-sil</a>, who also happens to be the daughter of another famous South Korean man – cult leader <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-37820112">Choi Tae-min</a>, founder of the Church of Eternal Life. </p>
<p>The revelation generated a huge wave of public revulsion against the 64-year-old president. Her public approval rating plummeted, there have been <a href="http://news.sky.com/story/protesters-demand-south-korean-president-park-geun-hye-resign-10654681">public demonstrations</a> – one million people gathered on the streets of Seoul to demand her resignation – and she is facing a criminal investigation, all because of the company she keeps.</p>
<p>The fathers of both women were also closely linked. Choi Tae-min or “Pastor” Choi was known to have been influential with former president, Park Chung-hee. The latter’s assassin <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kim-Jae-Kyu">even claimed</a> that Choi’s influence was one of the reasons he killed him. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145784/original/image-20161114-5108-1ghssqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145784/original/image-20161114-5108-1ghssqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=934&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145784/original/image-20161114-5108-1ghssqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=934&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145784/original/image-20161114-5108-1ghssqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=934&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145784/original/image-20161114-5108-1ghssqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1174&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145784/original/image-20161114-5108-1ghssqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1174&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145784/original/image-20161114-5108-1ghssqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1174&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Former president Park Chung-hee.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>As long time family friends, the current president developed a close relationship with Choi and his daughter. The suspicion held by many South Koreans after the laptop revelations is that their president was manipulated by Choi Soon-sil and that the cult had acquired control over their country. </p>
<p>The other suspicion is that Choi Soon-sil, 60, abused her relationship with President Park for personal gain. Choi’s daughter appears to have received favourable treatment to gain admission to the <a href="http://www.topuniversities.com/universities/ewha-womans-university/undergrad">Ewha Women’s University</a> despite insufficient grades. The president of the university has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/31/south-korean-scandal-choi-soon-sil-pleads-for-forgiveness">since resigned</a>.</p>
<p>More importantly, it is <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/south-korea-president-park-geun-hye-friend-choi-soon-sil-arrested-scandal/">alleged in the media</a> that she used her links to President Park to obtain US$70m in donations from Korean industrial conglomerates for her two foundations, promoting Korean culture and sports. </p>
<p>It <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/11/south-korea-president-park-friend-choi-detained-161101043358269.html">has also been suggested</a> that substantial amounts went into Choi’s personal accounts and that her staff have been directly involved in the review of presidential policy documents.</p>
<p>The political shock generated by this affair has reverberated around the establishment. The lawmakers of the ruling party have been left reeling while the opposition continue to call for the resignation of the president. </p>
<p>What is particularly remarkable is the response of the South Korean people. Until this point Park had been viewed as a rather uninspiring but unusually clean politician. The scandal has shaken the nation to its core and has given rise to a complete collapse in trust for the highest political office. </p>
<p>President Park made a brief and rather <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-04/park-says-hard-to-forgive-myself-for-political-scandal/7996376">contrite apology</a> as the political storm clouds were gathering. And in order to stem the rising tide of demands for her resignation, she has replaced key government officials including the prime minister. </p>
<p>But so far there is no sign that these measures are sufficient to mitigate the scandal and the political establishment is openly unwilling to accept the government’s authority. This is creating a state of political paralysis without any obvious route of escape. </p>
<h2>Seoul searching</h2>
<p>It is possible that the National Assembly will vote to impeach President Park, but there is no clearly established mechanism to put in place an interim president until the elections in 2017. There is a serious risk that the South Korean government will remain dysfunctional until then. </p>
<p>For the Republic of Korea this would be extremely damaging given the constant provocations from North Korea and the challenges facing the South Korean economy in the wake of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/something-good-could-actually-come-from-samsungs-battery-disaster-67272">woes of Samsung</a>. </p>
<p>Even since the transition to democracy, every South Korean president has left office leaving scandals in their wake. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kim-Dae-Jung">Kim Dae-jung</a> was damaged in 2003 by the revelation that a very large sum of money was paid to North Korea in order to secure an historic summit, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Roh-Tae-Woo">Roh Tae-woo</a> went to prison for corruption in 1996, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Roh-Moo-Hyun">Roh Moo-hyun</a> killed himself in 2009 in order to escape an investigation of his family for receiving substantial illicit donations. </p>
<p>Park, however, is the first to face a major scandal while still in office.</p>
<p>For the Saenuri party, which considers itself the natural party of government in the Republic of Korea, this situation is a catastrophe. It has no plausible candidate for the forthcoming president elections and its only salvation might be if <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/what-has-ban-ki-moon-done-for-the-world/">outgoing UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon</a> were to run as a Saenuri candidate. </p>
<p>The fact that he has been absent from South Korean politics for so long and has such a high international reputation may enable him to garner support in the hope that he will somehow redeem the institution of the presidency. But for the foreseeable future there is little escape from the existential crisis that the South Korean political system has suddenly fallen into.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68004/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christoph Bluth received funding from Korea Foundation to study South Korea's National Security Policy. Similar funding was received from the Academy of Korean Studies. This funding was for impartial research, not linked to or supporting any political organisation.</span></em></p>The president of South Korea has been accused of choosing her friends poorly.Christoph Bluth, Professor of International Relations and Security, University of BradfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/419542015-05-20T03:26:33Z2015-05-20T03:26:33ZIndia and China move closer as Modi tours ‘Act East’ policy<p>This past week, Narendra Modi has visited China (May 14-16), Mongolia (May 17) and South Korea (May 18-19). The Indian prime minister’s tour has demonstrated his nation’s diplomatic approach, which aims to maximise common interests and minimise political differences and potential obstacles.</p>
<h2>Focus on ‘Act East’ and ‘Make in India’ policies</h2>
<p>“Act East” and “Make in India” are the key words to understand the purpose and achievements of Modi’s tour. “Act East” is an <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/look-east-policy-now-turned-into-act-east-policy-modi/article6595186.ece">upgraded version</a> of the “Look East” policy. The latter has been pursued since 1991 when the Indian economy experienced liberalisation and started to pay attention to East and South Asian countries for potential economic partnerships.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/30/us-india-joint-statement">India-US Joint Statement</a> in September 2014 introduced “Act East” as a more pro-active extension.</p>
<p>In the same month, Modi launched the “Make in India” campaign. According to India’s <a href="http://www.makeinindia.com/">Investor Facilitation Cell</a>, this national program aims to facilitate global investment and build manufacturing infrastructure. A total of <a href="http://www.makeinindia.com/sectors">25 sectors</a> from automobiles to wellness are open to investors under this slogan.</p>
<p>An example of an investing model under the two significant directions is the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. It was implemented by a body in which the Indian government and Japan Bank for International Cooperation are stakeholders (49% and 26% respectively). </p>
<p>Philosophically, as Modi has implied at <a href="http://www.mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/25265/Prime_Ministers_remarks_at_the_Asian_Leadership_Forum_at_Seoul_May_19_2015">the Asian Leadership Forum</a>, the two slogans are pursued as a roadmap to realise shared prosperity in Asia and extend the era of Asia’s re-emergence. This explains why Modi has outlined the details of “Make in India” in each of the recently visited states.</p>
<h2>What does Modi have to show for his tour?</h2>
<p>During his visits, Modi and his counterparts announced joint statements. These are extensive, ranging from political and security issues to culture, education and people-to-people exchanges. </p>
<p>In China, two joint statements have been signed, including the <a href="http://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/25238/Joint_Statement_on_Climate_Change_between_India_and_China_during_Prime_Ministers_visit_to_China">Joint Statement</a> on Climate Change. In addition, <a href="http://mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/25260/List+of+Agreements+signed+during+the+visit+of+Prime+Minister+to+China+May+15+2015">24 agreements</a> and MOUs have been inked between India and China, <a href="http://mea.gov.in/outoging-visit-detail.htm?25252/List+of+AgreementsMoUs+exchanged+during+the+visit+of+Prime+Minister+to+Mongolia+May+17+2015">13</a> with Mongolia and <a href="http://pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updates/list-of-agreementsmous-signed-during-the-visit-of-prime-minister-to-republic-of-korea-may-18-2015">seven</a> with South Korea.</p>
<p>In the <a href="http://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/25240/Joint_Statement_between_the_India_and_China_during_Prime_Ministers_visit_to_China">Joint Statement</a> with 41 articles, the Indian and Chinese leaders agreed on strengthening political dialogue and strategic communication, along with a closer economic partnership. In the India-China Summit last September, China promised to invest US$20 billion in the Indian manufacturing sector in the next five years and to set up industrial parks in Maharashtra and Gujarat. </p>
<p>One area of exemplary co-operation between India and China is the railway sector. China wants to export its express railway technology and India wants to establish a fast-rail system across its territory. India’s efforts to expand the breadth of communication with China were exhibited at the launch of the India-China <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/cms-to-meet-chinese-provincial-leaders-today/">Forum of State Provincial Leaders</a>.</p>
<p>In Modi’s <a href="http://www.mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/25251/Press_Statement_by_Prime_Minister_during_his_visit_to_Mongolia_May_17_2015">press statement</a> in Mongolia, that nation is described as “an integral part of India’s Act East Policy” which shares closely linked goals in the Asia-Pacific region. He promised US$1 billion in credit for Mongolia’s economic capability, institutions, infrastructure and human resources.</p>
<p>Further, the relationship between India and Mongolia has been upgraded to the status of a strategic partnership. Co-operation between national security councils is agreed and will provide a strategic framework for joint actions in border security and cyber security.</p>
<p>India has described South Korea as “an indispensable partner” in its “Act East” strategy in the <a href="http://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/25261/India__Republic_of_Korea_Joint_Statement_for_Special_Strategic_Partnership_May_18_2015">Joint Statement</a> between Modi and President Park Geun-hye. Modi discussed in detail the reciprocal strengths in Indian and South Korean industries at <a href="http://www.mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/25266/Prime_Ministers_statement_at_IndiaRepublic_of_Korea_CEOs_Forum_in_Seoul_May_19_2015">the CEOs Forum</a>. </p>
<p>For example, India’s software and Korea’s hardware industry, India’s iron ore and Korea’s steel-producing capacity, India’s port development plan along with constructing LNG tankers and Korea’s ship-building ability have been mentioned. Modi has promoted India’s national projects on housing, city constructing, renewable energy generation and transportation while reassuring that India would be a very easy place to do business. Modi promised that Korean investors would be supported favourably in India under his government’s “Korea Plus” commitment.</p>
<h2>India’s approach to obstacles and solutions</h2>
<p>Modi’s visits to three East Asian countries seem to have answered a couple of questions on India’s approaches to security concerns, regional issues and diplomatic platforms.</p>
<p>The border dispute between India and China is a persistent one, which raises issues of territorial integrity for both countries. Troubles in border areas and the boundary question have been dealt with in three articles in the <a href="http://pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updates/joint-statement-between-the-india-and-china-during-prime-ministers-visit-to-china">Joint Statement</a>. This stresses the importance of frequent communications. </p>
<p>In his <a href="http://www.mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/25239/Prime_Ministers_Media_Statement_in_Beijing_during_his_visit_to_China_May_15_2015">statement</a> in Beijing, Modi describes this as a problem holding them “back from realising the full potential of our (India and China) partnership” while suggesting “intensifying confidence-building measures”. When he met <a href="http://www.mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/25242/Address_by_Prime_Minister_at_the_Tsinghua_University_Beijing_May_15_2015">Qinghua University</a> students, he pointed out that the solution for the instability and uncertainty over the border dispute is “clarifying” “where the Line of Actual Control is”.</p>
<p>India’s trade deficit is another obstacle in dealing with China as a stable economic partner. Indian industry’s accessibility to the Chinese market and India’s growing deficit have been discussed between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.</p>
<p>India and South Korea have more common security concerns, ranging from the North Korean nuclear issue to maritime security. However, their relatively modest level of economic engagement is an issue. South Korea ranks only 14th in foreign direct investment in India. </p>
<p>Several diplomatic attempts at closer engagement have been made. Firstly, during Modi’s visit to South Korea, the two countries elevated the bilateral relationship to “<a href="http://pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updates/india-republic-of-korea-joint-statement-for-special-strategic-partnership">Special Strategic Partnership</a>” from the “<a href="http://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/1216/IndiaRepublic+of+Korea+Joint+Statement+Towards+a+Strategic+Partnership">Strategic Partnership</a>” announced in 2010. Secondly, Korea becomes the second country with which India establishes a 2+2 diplomatic and security dialogue, following the India-Japan dialogue in the same format. </p>
<p>Thirdly, the Korea-India <a href="http://aric.adb.org/fta/india-korea-comprehensive-economic-partnership-agreement">Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement</a> will be reviewed in terms of market-access issues. Lastly, the two countries have agreed to form a joint working group on shipbuilding.</p>
<h2>Economic needs drive co-operation</h2>
<p>Economic motivations are driving the focus on mutual interests in relations between India and respective countries. Meanwhile, security concerns represent possible obstacles that could prevent more tangible developments. </p>
<p>Modi’s Asian tour also sends a significant signal to Australian policy-makers and businesses that India is further positioning itself as the next manufacturing hub.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/41954/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jiye Kim does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>India wants closer engagement with its neighbours as it aspires to become a global manufacturing hub. Narendra Modi’s visits to China, Mongolia and South Korea are all about promoting this agenda.Jiye Kim, PhD Candidate, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.