[Asia Democracy Issue Briefing] Getting the Military Out of Politics in South Korea
2020-08-27
Knowledge-Net for a Better World
August 2020
Getting the Military Out of Politics in South Korea
Nam Kyu Kim
Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations, Korea University
"Military’s Retreat from Politics
– One Step Forward for Democratization"
South Korea sets an example for countries undergoing democratic transition, particularly in terms of the transition from military rule to democracy. In this issue briefing, Prof. Nam Kyu Kim examines several factors that made the military retreat from politics and enabled the country to achieve democracy with little risk of authoritarian reversal. Prof. Kim argues that along with the massive pro-democracy movement from below, democratic transition in the country was made possible because of the military’s concession on democratization through bargaining and negotiations, with little incentive for the military to intervene in politics. In this respect, Prof. Kim concluded that searching the ways to incentivize the military to accept the popular demand for democratization is key to successful transition to democracy.
