By Bernard Rowan
I want to share a few thoughts about future Korean leaders. I hope readers will think of this column as insights less than recommendations. I'm an observer of Korean politics, society, and culture, and a student of American foreign policy. My comments address the future of Korean leadership.
In slightly different forms, they could apply to other democracies. I'm not wedded to a particular form for Korean democracy. Korean democracy is its own and shouldn't copy another society's.
South Korea is a unitary state with a strong presidency, but perhaps too strong still. The premier or Prime Minister's role wants greater emphasis. Legislative bodies, including the National Assembly, have important powers but depend on the president's national mandate, either to follow it or to resist. South Korean courts have exercised increasing power, including her constitutional court.
South Korea's democratic origins, like many nations, occurred after military control of government. South Korea's overdependence on the executive came from a line of military leaders, typified by Park Chung-hee, as well as her unitary state. And yes, while civilian control of the military emerged through what I'd term the protest and revolution of Korean politics in the 1980s, the legacy of one-person rule continues in a weakened and limited form. A democracy isn't as strong as its first leader. It's as strong as her people and the South Korean political culture with its democratic bases of governance. These include stable political parties, interest associations, unions, and self-government under the Korean constitution.
South Korean leaders need to call forth and prompt the continued development of civil society, from interest associations to nonprofit organizations. These provide valuable training grounds for leaders, and their presence in South Korea remains underdeveloped.
The continued growth of Korean democracy needs emphasis on cultivating leaders at the provincial, district, city and rural levels too. Local autonomy mustn't remain an afterthought. Many presidents in democracies come from leaders of states, cities, and towns. Their leadership style and expertise arise from those experiences. Korea has a unitary state. However, South Korea needs more leaders who have experience in developing the many regional and rural, as well as urban, lands, towns, and needs of the Korean people. South Korea also needs more women as leaders.
Why does nearly every Korean President rise only to fall, usually at the hands of some discovered corruption, personal or familial? Why do parties splinter and fall apart on the heels of presidential changes and the ebb and flow of national leaders. Political parties shouldn't work like quasi-cults of personality. In South Korea, dependence on personal loyalty should count less than the party's platform and the leader's commitment to it. Parties should groom leaders from different levels of state and society.
South Korea emerged from an era of Japanese imperial and colonial rule due to an alliance of interest and principle with the United States. Syngman Rhee and others created a link that will continue to forge the crucible of South Korean national interest.
However, South Korea no longer is a dependent nation or "little brother" in many respects. The mix of interests also has changed, and South Korea can't afford to mimic American foreign policy, no matter the pressure. U.S.-Korean relations must change to reflect greater Korean control of the military alliance on the Korean peninsula. Liberals should tread carefully. Kim Jong-un uses the world to prop himself up! It's unlikely that China seriously cares about Korean unification on anything but Chinese terms. Those terms don't favor democracy at this point, I'm afraid. Democracies stick together or fall apart.
Also, South Korea's endless scapegoating of Japan limits her further advance. Comfort women and contested islets have been major issues, as well as Japan's evil and cruelty during the colonial period. These issues all make sense. However, South Korea is much closer to Japan as a democratic state and global economic partner. Working with regional allies must occur for peace and stability. South Korea doesn't think of Japan as a big brother. There's no inferiority to overcome. The past needs to be more of the past, and Japanese ultranationalists aren't the major force or part of Japanese society.
Bernard Rowan (browan10@yahoo.com) is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University.
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In slightly different forms, they could apply to other democracies. I'm not wedded to a particular form for Korean democracy. Korean democracy is its own and shouldn't copy another society's.
South Korea is a unitary state with a strong presidency, but perhaps too strong still. The premier or Prime Minister's role wants greater emphasis. Legislative bodies, including the National Assembly, have important powers but depend on the president's national mandate, either to follow it or to resist. South Korean courts have exercised increasing power, including her constitutional court.
South Korea's democratic origins, like many nations, occurred after military control of government. South Korea's overdependence on the executive came from a line of military leaders, typified by Park Chung-hee, as well as her unitary state. And yes, while civilian control of the military emerged through what I'd term the protest and revolution of Korean politics in the 1980s, the legacy of one-person rule continues in a weakened and limited form. A democracy isn't as strong as its first leader. It's as strong as her people and the South Korean political culture with its democratic bases of governance. These include stable political parties, interest associations, unions, and self-government under the Korean constitution.
South Korean leaders need to call forth and prompt the continued development of civil society, from interest associations to nonprofit organizations. These provide valuable training grounds for leaders, and their presence in South Korea remains underdeveloped.
The continued growth of Korean democracy needs emphasis on cultivating leaders at the provincial, district, city and rural levels too. Local autonomy mustn't remain an afterthought. Many presidents in democracies come from leaders of states, cities, and towns. Their leadership style and expertise arise from those experiences. Korea has a unitary state. However, South Korea needs more leaders who have experience in developing the many regional and rural, as well as urban, lands, towns, and needs of the Korean people. South Korea also needs more women as leaders.
Why does nearly every Korean President rise only to fall, usually at the hands of some discovered corruption, personal or familial? Why do parties splinter and fall apart on the heels of presidential changes and the ebb and flow of national leaders. Political parties shouldn't work like quasi-cults of personality. In South Korea, dependence on personal loyalty should count less than the party's platform and the leader's commitment to it. Parties should groom leaders from different levels of state and society.
South Korea emerged from an era of Japanese imperial and colonial rule due to an alliance of interest and principle with the United States. Syngman Rhee and others created a link that will continue to forge the crucible of South Korean national interest.
However, South Korea no longer is a dependent nation or "little brother" in many respects. The mix of interests also has changed, and South Korea can't afford to mimic American foreign policy, no matter the pressure. U.S.-Korean relations must change to reflect greater Korean control of the military alliance on the Korean peninsula. Liberals should tread carefully. Kim Jong-un uses the world to prop himself up! It's unlikely that China seriously cares about Korean unification on anything but Chinese terms. Those terms don't favor democracy at this point, I'm afraid. Democracies stick together or fall apart.
Also, South Korea's endless scapegoating of Japan limits her further advance. Comfort women and contested islets have been major issues, as well as Japan's evil and cruelty during the colonial period. These issues all make sense. However, South Korea is much closer to Japan as a democratic state and global economic partner. Working with regional allies must occur for peace and stability. South Korea doesn't think of Japan as a big brother. There's no inferiority to overcome. The past needs to be more of the past, and Japanese ultranationalists aren't the major force or part of Japanese society.
Bernard Rowan (browan10@yahoo.com) is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University.
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