Full history of South Korean politics to understand current situation.

Hope you find this interesting, especially if you’re not conversant to the politics of South Korea.

Before I go in, I’d better let you know some Important things about politics of S.Korea.

1. Prosecution Service has a massive influence on South Korea’s political landscape, particularly in cases of political retaliation. The Prosecution Service (or prosecutors) of South Korea has some complex characteristics:
   • They have sweeping authority in crime investigation. They oversee numerous agents and can command the police to assist with their cases. When compared to the U.S., the agency is closer to the FBI (with prosecution authority) than to federal attorneys.
   • They maintain a very exclusive and rigid hierarchy, like the military. They rarely recruit mid-career professionals, instead selectively hiring fresh law school graduates. Moreover, prosecutors must leave office if they fail to secure promotion, similar to military officers. This gives prosecutors a strong sense of elitism and loyalty to their bosses and the organization.
   • They are highly political. Although all prosecutors, including the prosecutor-general, are career officials (not political appointees), they are widely regarded as politically motivated. While it is illegal for the president to order the agency to investigate or indict a specific individual, prosecutors have often sought to comply with their president’s implied intentions. This has led to accusations of targeting the president’s political opponents, particularly opposition leaders or former presidents from rival parties, for their career progression.
2. South Korea is a Two-Party System country like the US. The two parties are the Democratic Party and Conservative Party, which are named the Democratic Party of Korea and People’s Power Party, respectively, at the moment. Though their names have changed numerous times and they’ve divided during crises, their nature has persisted for decades.

Everything traces back to 2009, when the Prosecution Service under Lee Myung-bak (Conservative) administration investigated former President Roh Moo-hyun (Democrat) for bribery. A few months later, he tragically committed suicide by jumping off a cliff. The Democrats, along with a large segment of the public, attributed his shocking death to a “political retaliatory investigation” by then-President Lee.

A few years later, Moon Jae-in, a close friend and former chief of staff to Roh, ran as the Democrats’ presidential candidate against Park Geun-hye in 2012 but lost. However, in 2016, President Park was impeached over a cult-related scandal, and Moon, along with the Democrats, gained power through a by-election. Subsequently, prosecutors indicted former President Park and Lee on various charges, eventually imprisoning both.

After leading these prosecutions under Moon, two prominent prosecutors, Yoon Seok-yeol and Han Dong-hoon, rose to prosecutor-general(chief prosecutor) and director, respectively. Despite their loyalty to the regime, a huge controversy arose when Cho Kuk, a professor at Seoul National University Law School and a senior legal aide to Moon, was appointed Minister of Justice. The Conservatives alleged Cho’s involvement in family-related scandals, and, surprisingly, Yoon started an investigation into Cho. Although Moon supported Cho’s appointment, Cho resigned just five days after his inauguration. Rather than dismiss Yoon, Moon appointed Choo Mi-ae, a “tough cookie” of the Democrats, as Minister of Justice.

With Moon’s empowerment, Choo restructured the Prosecution Service, sidelining anti-Democrat prosecutors like Han and replacing them with pro-Democrat personnel. Yoon fiercely opposed these actions, gaining strong support from the Conservatives and the conservative media. The tension reached its peak when the Democrat lawmakers proposed a reform act to restrict the Prosecution Service’s investigative powers. Yoon resigned in protest, arguing that the act was absurd and would lead to a crime-ridden country.

Following his resignation, Yoon entered politics. He joined the Conservatives, ran in their primary, and won. In the subsequent presidential election, his opponent was Lee Jae-myung of the Democrats, a former mayor of Seongnam and governor of Gyeonggi Province. After an intense campaign marked by personal attacks, Yoon won by 0.7%: the narrowest win ever.

After his inauguration, Yoon appointed Han as his the administration’s first Minister of Justice, and the prosecution’s investigation into Lee Jae-myung accelerated. His major allegations are

1. Daejang-dong Gate: Daejang-dong is a neighborhood in Seongnam. There was an urban development project in the neighborhood when Lee was the city’s mayor, and he is alleged to have guaranteed most of the profits of the project to his close asset management firm.
2. Violating sanctions toward North Korea: Kim Sung-tae, Lee’s close enterpreneur is alleged of being involved in transaction with N. Korea which is strictly proscribed. Lee is also alleged to be involved in it.

Despite these challenges, Lee was elected to Congress through a by-election and also became the Democrat leader.

After two years filled with slander and mutual recrimination between the two parties, the congressional election of 2024 approached. After gaining quite a bit of popularity, Han resigned his ministry and moved to the Conservative leader to lead the election. Despite Yoon’s efforts to rally support, public sentiment had turned against him, largely due to two major scandals:

1. Corporal Chae’s death: In July 2023, a marine corporal, Chae Soo Keun, died during a reconnaissance mission after being swept away in a flood. Colonel Park Jung-hoon, investigating the case, was removed from his position after trying to accuse the corporal’s division commander, Lim Sung Keun, of negligence. Colonel Park claimed his removal was due to the president’s unjust influence protecting Commander Lim.
2. First Lady’s corruption: First Lady Kim Kun-hee is alleged to be involved in many scandals including stock price manipulation and bribery: this is where the “Dior Bag” appears.

During the election campaign, Han urged Yoon to address these scandals openly, but Yoon remained intransigent. Two ex-prosecutors’ long-standing partnership fractured, and the Democrats achieved a landslide victory in the elections, securing 175 seats to the Conservatives’ 108. Additionally, Cho Kuk’s Integrity Party, formed and led by Cho, gained 12 seats, becoming the Democrats’ trustworthy ally.

With its majority, the Democrats intensified their criticism of the president, employing major tactics:

1. Impeachment: Over 2.5 years, they initiated 14 impeachment trials for various officials. While a simple majority vote suffices for impeachment (except for the president, which requires a 2/3 vote), impeached officials are suspended until the Constitutional Court delivers a verdict.
2. Special Counsel: The Democrats proposed more than seven special counsels to investigate presidential scandals, but Yoon vetoed them all. The Democrats vowed to persist until “the truth comes out.”

The final trigger was budget cuts: The Democrats drastically slashed funding for the Prosecution Service and presidential office, severely hampering their operations for the following year. Soon, Yoon declared emergency martial law which is widely perceived as a self-coup.

Despite strong public opposition to Yoon, the most of Conservative lawmakers rejected impeachment proceedings for two main reasons:

1. Past experience: In 2016, the Conservatives impeached their own president hoping for a chance to save the party, but it nearly destroyed them. Senior lawmakers of the party have a strong belief that impeachment would only harm the party further.
2. Hopes for Lee Jae-myung’s conviction: Public sentiment strongly opposes the Conservatives, making it unlikely they will win the next presidential election against Lee. They are relying on the Supreme Court to convict Lee, thereby altering the political landscape in their favor.

I tried to demonstrate it as neutral-but-straightforward as possible. I’d appreciate your votes and comments!