Scholar Touts Made-in-Korea Democracy for Emerging Nations

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Staff Reporter

Officials in some developing Asian countries, including Vietnam and Mongolia, have begun taking a closer look at the development of Korea's legislature as a model, said a political scientist.

Youn Jung-suk, president of the Korean Legislative Studies Institute (KLSI), said that now is the time for the National Assembly to define its role in helping emerging democracies.

"I think the Korean model of democracy-building works better in nations where top-down decision-making is predominant, such as former communist states, those under authoritarian governments or nations that have been under dictatorship," Youn said in an interview with The Korea Times last Tuesday.

Since 1945, when Korea was liberated from Japan, the pro-democracy movement here has survived turbulent periods of military dictatorship and authoritarian control.

The decades-long effort finally bore fruit in the late 1980s. The rising demand for democracy from the people led the government to give in and let the people choose a president through direct voting.

Youn hinted that the top-down style in managing the nation facilitated economic growth during the nation's industrialization.

He observed that in the political arena, the practice prompted bottom-up democracy, as activists stood up against the repressive regime in the post-industrialization era.

Youn argued that as Korea has achieved democracy and prosperity through this unique path, it can give informed guidance to nations facing similar challenges.

The professor emeritus, who majored in Japanese studies at the University of Chicago in the 1960s, now teaches at Sogang University.

Before assuming the KLSI presidency, Youn served as president of Chung Ang University.

Founded in 1981, the KLSI has performed mainly academic and research activities in the fields of the parliamentary system, comparative studies of foreign legislatures and major legislative agendas.

Permanent Good

Youn called on policymakers mapping out aid strategy and policies to consider the Korean model of building democracy as one of the major areas where the country can assist less developed nations.

"As a donor, I think, Korea should think seriously about how it can help poor nations achieve permanent positive change. We need to look beyond one-off assistance measures and try to focus on helping their systems work better," he said.

His observation was in line with the message that the recent crisis in Haiti is sending the world.

In the wake of the magnitude 7 earthquake that pounded Haiti ― the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere ― last week, local experts and government officials are forecasting that the death toll may rise to 200,000.

Help is on the way from all around the world. Rescue workers and medical teams rushed to Haiti to save the lives of as many of those trapped under rubble as they could. Donations of medical products, water and other necessary items followed.

Korea joined the international rescue efforts by sending a team consisting of medical experts and rescue workers last Friday.

Meanwhile, the crisis in Haiti sheds light on a lesser-known consequence of calamities on poor nations ― poor infrastructure makes it difficult for them to rise from the ashes as they have almost nothing to begin with.

An American television journalist who was dispatched to cover the crisis said that he was told many times by locals that they need better construction of housing and other infrastructures to move forward in a sustainable manner.

Haitians want the world to help them in a manner that promotes sustainability, instead of simply one-off relief assistance.