Will Korea remain on the list of democratically backsliding nations?

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Will Korea remain on the list of democratically backsliding nations?

Published: 22 May. 2025, 00:01

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Jang Deok-jin

The author is a professor of sociology at Seoul National University.

One of the most commonly used methods in comparative political analysis is to examine a country alongside others with similar historical or structural features. During Korea’s period of rapid economic growth, its most frequent points of comparison included Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong. These countries shared broad similarities: colonial legacies, export-led development strategies, government-led industrialization and extended periods of astonishing economic growth.

As then-President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in an emergency national address, a military helicopter carrying troops lands on the National Assembly field in Yeouido, Seoul, in the early hours of Dec. 4, 2024. [JEON MIN-KYU]

Following Korea’s recovery from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the comparative cases shifted. Germany, with its history of division and reunification; France, known for its republican values and culture of social dialogue; Sweden, a model of labor compromise and welfare; and the United States, Britain and Australia — more market-oriented yet with robust social safety nets — entered the discussion. Despite its demographic challenges, even Japan was cited for its relatively smooth adaptation to a super-aged society. Meanwhile, debt-stricken Southern European countries like Greece and Italy served as cautionary tales.

In short, Korea's comparative reference group transitioned from fast-growing, newly industrialized economies to established democratic states with mature institutions. But that trend has again shifted in recent years — and not in a hopeful direction.

Korea is now increasingly compared to countries like Turkey, Hungary, Brazil and Thailand. What they share is not rapid development or democratic strength, but rather democratic backsliding. In economic terms, these countries are also less competitive than Korea’s earlier benchmarks. Turkey, often referred to in Korea as a "brother nation" due to shared historical ties, offers a particularly relevant case.

Both Korea and Turkey occupy geostrategic positions at the edge of former ideological blocs — Korea in the Far East and Turkey at the western tip of the former Eastern bloc. Both were heavily shaped by U.S. Cold War strategy, and their modern political histories show striking parallels.

President Yoon Suk Yeol attends the opening session of the Ministerial Conference of the Third Summit for Democracy in March last year. The Constitutional Court upheld the National Assembly’s impeachment of Yoon, ousting him from office on April 4, 2025. [YONHAP]

If Korea had Park Chung Hee, Turkey had Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Both were hailed as national fathers — Park as the architect of Korea’s modernization, Ataturk literally meaning “Father of the Turks.” Turkey experienced military coups in 1960, 1971 and 1980 — years that closely mirror Korea’s own history of military takeovers. Turkey also faced a failed coup in 2016, a distinction Korea did not share — until now.

The failed coup attempt by former President Yoon Suk Yeol in 2024 has brought the two countries even closer in political resemblance. In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, once seen as a reformist democrat, transformed into an autocratic leader. He has ruled for 11 years as president and 22 years if his time as prime minister is included. The failed 2016 coup was the turning point.

Erdogan claimed that the coup was orchestrated by a vast conspiracy led by his exiled rival Fethullah Gulen, now in the United States. Under the guise of purging coup supporters, Erdogan dismissed or imprisoned over 1,000 military officers, more than 2,500 judges and prosecutors, and thousands of civil servants. Independent universities were dismantled, dozens of media outlets were shut down, and even ordinary citizens suspected of supporting Gulen’s social and educational movements were blacklisted, stripped of passports, or dismissed from their jobs. Access to platforms like Instagram was blocked. A rubber-stamp parliament, dominated by Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), offered no checks on his growing power.

Ironically, Erdogan was once viewed as a symbol of democratic transition. Navigating tensions between Turkish nationalism, Islamism and secularism, he rose to power through political dexterity — only to pivot dramatically once in office.

In Korea, it was not the military but a sitting president who attempted a coup. One could argue the context is different, and that Yoon alone bears responsibility for the reckless and unlawful act. He should be held fully accountable. Yet that does not justify the Democratic Party’s extreme counter-response. Using its parliamentary supermajority, the party has pushed through 31 impeachment motions, with some lawmakers accusing opponents of “second,” “third,” or “fourth” coups in language eerily reminiscent of Turkey’s post-coup purges.

Then-President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during the first session of the 19th Group of 20 (G20) summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Nov. 18, 2024 (local time). From left: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, President Yoon, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Efforts to intimidate the judiciary and impeach the chief justice, at a time when the party’s presidential candidate faces five separate trials, raise serious concerns about democratic integrity. Such actions resemble Erdogan’s attempts to consolidate power and silence dissent. Is Korea now replicating Turkey’s political trajectory through the twin ambitions of Yoon Suk Yeol and Lee Jae-myung?

The conservative People Power Party has effectively destroyed itself politically, and the Democratic Party is treading dangerously close to the edge. Unless Korea reverses course, it may find itself increasingly cited not as a model democracy but as another case study in democratic regression.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.