The Rule of the Majority Must Be Restrained

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The Rule of the Majority Must Be Restrained

Published: 13 Oct. 2025, 00:01

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Choi Hoon

The author is a senior columnist at the JoongAng Ilbo.

Winning an election gives a government the right to rule. That is the basic principle of democracy — rule by the majority. But when those in power reinterpret laws to serve their interests and mobilize every legal tool available to consolidate control, democracy begins to erode. The judiciary, a traditional obstacle to political dominance, is “reformed” to be more efficient — in other words, more compliant. Public broadcasting, the nation’s voice, is filled with loyal and submissive figures who echo the administration’s code. Parliament remains open, and every decision appears legal because it follows procedural votes. Critics are dismissed as obstructionists, and if they persist, they are branded as reactionaries resisting reform.

Democratic Party Chair Jung Chung-rae(left), Supreme Council member Jeon Hyun-heui(right), and Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chair Choo Mi-ae(center) move to cast their ballots after marking them during a secret vote to end a filibuster on a bill to revise the National Assembly Act at the plenary session on September 28. The three are considered hardliners within the ruling party pushing for rapid judicial reforms backed by its majority strength. [YONHAP]

This model of “legal electoral dictatorship” is embodied by Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, who has reshaped the concept of majority rule in the 21st century. A far-right populist and close ally of Donald Trump, Orbán built his power by winning four consecutive elections between 2010 and 2022, leading his Fidesz coalition to repeated two-thirds majorities — enough to amend the constitution at will. His governing creed is simple: “In politics, anything is possible.”

Orbán’s first targets were the courts and the media. In 2014, his government expanded Hungary’s Constitutional Court from 11 to 15 judges, filling the new seats with loyalists. He also changed the appointment process from a parliamentary system to one controlled by the government. His next move was to oust Supreme Court Chief Judge András Baka, a respected jurist who had spent 17 years at the European Court of Human Rights. Orbán inserted a new clause requiring at least five years of domestic judicial experience to serve as chief justice — a change that legally disqualified Baka.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de, who has been under pressure from the Democratic Party to appear for a parliamentary audit, arrives at the Supreme Court in Seocho District, Seoul, on October 10. [YONHAP]

He then revised media laws to ban “biased, insulting or morally offensive” reporting, imposing fines of up to $900,000. A pro-government media council, packed with loyalists, fined dozens of outlets and denied license renewals to critical broadcasters. More than a thousand journalists lost their jobs. In 2022, the European Parliament declared that “Hungary is no longer a democracy but an electoral autocracy.”

The administration of President Lee Jae Myung has been in office for 142 days. Stock markets are rising, and relations with Japan have improved. The president has also emphasized field visits and communication. Yet unease persists over what some call an “excess of majority.” The source lies in the ruling party’s hard-line minority.

The Democratic Party, which holds a dominant majority in the National Assembly, is pushing to overhaul the judiciary. Lawmakers have targeted Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de and Judge Ji Gui-yeon, citing an unverified claim that Jo said he would “handle the case” if President Lee’s election law appeal reached the top court before Presidential election. No evidence has surfaced to support the accusation. Nonetheless, the ruling party is seeking to expand the number of Supreme Court justices from 14 to 26, establish a special tribunal, and allow constitutional petitions against court rulings — measures critics say are politically motivated.

The party also passed legislation reshaping governance at public broadcasters. The number of KBS board members rose from 11 to 15, with nine now appointed by professional and civic groups such as employees, viewers, lawyers and academics, while six remain tied to parliamentary parties. The reform also mandates equal labor-management representation on programming committees. Opposition lawmakers argue the new system allows progressive unions and civic groups to dominate public broadcasting permanently.

Meanwhile, the ruling bloc has revived plans to amend the media arbitration law to allow massive damages for “fake news.” Yet who decides what counts as “fake?” Even President Lee has expressed reservations, warning, “Do not target the media alone. Anyone who spreads malicious falsehoods should be liable, but restricting only journalists invites accusations of suppression.” A senior aide at the presidential office noted, “There are times when we feel a temperature gap with the ruling party.”

President Donald Trump meets with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the Oval Office of the White House, May 13, 2019, in Washington. [AP/YONHAP]

Democracy depends on majority rule, but the majority is neither always wise nor permanently legitimate. Political majorities can quickly become minorities. That is why democracies establish checks — through independent courts and free media — to restrain the overreach of temporary majorities. The U.S. Supreme Court, insulated from political pressure through lifetime appointments, exists precisely to protect such independence.

No majority vote can override the freedom of expression. Once judicial independence and press freedom collapse, democracy itself dies. That is the path Orbán took — and one Korea must never follow. The enduring value to protect above any fleeting majority is liberal democracy itself.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.