South Korea’s martial law moment: constitutional crisis, and the regional order

Written by Dr Seohee Park

This crisis represents more than a domestic Korean political drama; it tests the resilience of regional alliances and could accelerate broader geopolitical shifts in an increasingly complex Northeast Asian landscape.

East Asia9DLJanuary 6, 20259DASHLINE, Constitutional crisis and regional order: South Korea’s martial law moment, Seohee Park, South Korea, Korea, Yoon, Yoon government, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Yoon Suk-yeol, Yoon Suk Yeol, President Yoon Suk Yeol, President Yoon Suk-yeol, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, martial law, First Lady Kim Keon Hee, stock manipulation, corruption, People Power Party (PPP), Han Dong-hoon, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, National Assembly, Mencian principle, authoritarian, collective memory, Syngman Rhee’s anti-communist crackdowns, Park Chung-hee’s military dictatorship, Chun Doo-hwan, 1980 Gwangju Democracy Movement, national psyche, military, Yeouido, lawmakers, opposition, South Korea’s democracy, democracy, Constitutional Court, impeachment, bipartisan, Democratic Party (DP), Donald Trump, White House, regional stability, Shigeru Ishiba, Japan, Northeast Asia, diplomatic realignment, diplomatic, Korea passing, Chinese President Xi, Seoul-Tokyo rapprochement, semiconductor, trade, restrictions, Camp David summit, security cooperation, Lee Jae-myung, constitutional crisis, Moon Jae-in, North Korea, America First, Tokyo, Asian NATO, Ukraine, Taiwan, ASEAN, allies, Korean Peninsula, US-Japan alliance, US-UK relationship, Quad, India, Australia, Official Security Assistance (OSA), Philippines, Indonesia, Mongolia, Djibouti, semiconductor supply chains, emerging technologies, impeachment of Acting President Han Duck-soo (Prime Minister)

South Korea's midterm election tests democratic resilience

Written by Dr Hannes B. Mosler

The short-term challenge of this election is to prevent a conservative majority in parliament, lest the current autocratic episode in South Korean democracy turn into a post-democratic vortex.

East Asia9DLApril 9, 2024HANNES B. MOSLER, South Korea's midterm election tests democratic resilience, 9Dashline, South Korea, democracy, election, parliament, midterm election, democratic resilience, K-pop, Park Geun-hye, Park Geun-hye’s impeachment, corruption, FES Human Rights Prize, mass demonstrations, democracy research, formal democracy, Moon Jae-in, President Yoon Suk-yeol, democracy problem, democratisation, democracy index, V-DEM, South Korea’s democracy, backsliding, autocratizing country, autocratisation, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Liberal Democracy Index, negative campaigning, governance failures, New Right ideology, Itaewon disaster, press freedom, labour rights, ageing society, inflation, real estate prices, medical schools, political parties, President Yoon's inauguration, party leadership, People Power Party (PPP), Lee Jae-myung, Democratic Party (DP), electoral law reform, National Assembly, satellite parties, Justice Minister Cho Kuk, Rebuilding Korea Party, Public Official Election Act, constituency, lame-duck, lame duck, Yoon’s ‘lame duck’ presidency, post-democratic

Cambodian election in 2023: No space for the opposition

Written by Perle Petit

Hun Manet’s image as a ‘clean politician’, in combination with the relative stability of the country (when compared to regional neighbours), will most likely play in the government’s favour in terms of improving Cambodia’s relationship with the West.

Southeast Asia9DLFebruary 14, 20239Dashline, Perle Petit, Cambodian election in 2023: No space for the opposition, Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen, Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), elections, ASEAN, China-US power struggle, foreign policy, CPP victory, regime legitimacy, Joe Biden, the West, nepotism, corruption, repression, Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), Sam Rainsy Party, Human Rights Party, opposition, political competition, crackdown, Supreme Court, independent media, civil society, parliamentarians, treason, exile, electoral legitimacy, electoral autocratic ‘window-dressing exercises’, political ban, Candlelight Party (CLP), National Assembly, co-opted legal system, CLP Vice President Son Chhay, mass trials, Dam Sith, National Election Committee, Hun Manet, Commander of the Army, CPP’s Central Committee, old guard, China, US, President of the Senate

BTS, military enlistment controversy, and lessons for Korea’s public diplomacy

Written by Nguyen Le

Miscalculated interventions from the government as in the case of BTS weaken South Korean soft power, social cohesion, and — even worse — personal rights (by instrumentalising humans as public diplomacy tools).

Yoon’s ‘lame duck’ presidency

Written by Vicent Plana Aranda

Looking at the trajectory of Yoon’s ratings during the first six months of his presidency, it will be difficult to recover his presidency’s early levels of approval, and more likely that it consolidates into what could be called a ‘lame duck’ presidency.

East Asia, Power Politics9DLNovember 17, 20229DashLine, Yoon’s ‘lame duck’ presidency, Vicent Plana Aranda, South Korea, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, Democratic Party, opposition, People Power Party (PPP), National Assembly, approval ratings, Gallup Korea, Blue House, Yongsan, Seoul, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Beijing, Office of the President, Han Dong-hoon, appointments, Supreme Prosecutor, Minister of Justice, Minister of Health, Chung Ho-young, nepotism, Kim Seung-hee, Korea Fair Trade Commission, Song Ok-rial, sexual harassment, Kim In-chul, plagiarism, bangseokjip, Education Minister Park Soon-ae, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, United Nations General Assembly, New York, Queen Elizabeth II, London, Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment, Biden, Congress, South Korean broadcaster MBC, nallimyun, Kim Eun-hye, South Korean National Assembly, freedom of the press, press freedom, Park Sung-jae, local elections, Busan, mayoral by-elections, impeachment, former President Park Geun-hye, lame duck, legislative elections

In Brief with Ji Seong-ho, National Assembly Member

The European Union can play several critical roles with respect to North Korea. The first is to enact a ‘North Korean Human Rights Act’. Such a law only exists in the Republic of Korea, the US, and Japan.