Democratic erosion can be defined as the gradual weakening of democratic institutions in a particular country or region through the erosion of democratic norms and practices. Democratic erosion has been a consistent issue in recent years, especially in the beautiful country of South Korea. Commonly thought of as an advanced, well-functioning democracy, it has experienced significant democratic erosion in recent years. The election of President Yoon Suk-yeol has correlated with increased democratic erosion in South Korea that will destroy South Korea’s democracy if not properly dealt with. 

To understand how democracy looks in South Korea, we must look at events that preceded the presidency of Yoon Suk-yeol. South Korea had been experiencing significant democratic erosion prior to his presidency. Former president Park Geun-hye was involved in a significant corruption scandal in 2017 that involved her personal confidante meddling in domestic and foreign policies. This led to the candlelight protests that preceded Park Geun-hye being demoted from president into a prisoner of the state. 

South Korea experienced some democratic recovery in the following years. With the corruption scandal over and done with, South Korea and its government moved on and attempted to recover from the embarrassment of Park Geun-hye. After some political stability during the presidency of Moon Jae-in, which lasted nearly 5 years, it seemed like South Korea had sort of bounced back from the clear democratic erosion that had occurred in the country just a few years before.  

This is not to say that the presidency of Moon Jae-in was peaceful and fully democratic. Moon Jae-in was known to use a “good vs. evil” rhetoric that put many at odds in South Korea. When leaders use this kind of rhetoric to sway voters towards their side, it is clear democratic erosion. When intimidation is used and mass media sources are swayed to one political side over another, democracy is being eroded. However, South Korea actually saw an increase in their freedom score from Freedom House in the years from 2017 to 2021. 

And then Yoon Suk-yeol was elected president in 2022. 

Yoon Suk-yeol has many similarities to former American president Donald Trump. He is a political outsider with very strong conservative views. He has large support from mass sections of the South Korean population, especially young males. He is also a known anti-feminist who is in favor of abolishing South Korea’s Gender Equality Ministry.  

The practice of investigating and censoring political opponents is a key component of democratic erosion. When political opponents are attacked and silenced, democracy crumbles even more. This intimidation and these types of investigations were happening during the previous presidencies before President Yoon. However, him being elected was supposed to show a change in South Korea’s government. This was not the case. Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levitsky delve into key indicators of democratic erosion in their work “How Democracies Die.” One of the key indicators was a leader’s willingness to censor and punish members of the opposition, including media groups that are not friendly to the administration. When a leader continuously punishes and attacks the opposition, democracy suffers.

Instead of rectifying South Korea’s clear anti-democratic practices, President Yoon has actually continued them, and some would say he has made things worse. An example of this is with the opposition leader, Lee Yae-myung. Yae-myung was investigated heavily by the South Korean government for alleged bribery charges. He escaped imprisonment by a singular vote. Not only was he investigated heavily by the opposition party – his Democratic Party was also investigated extensively. Some in South Korea point to this as democratic erosion. The over-investigation and policing of opposition political figures is a highlight of democratic erosion. 

In addition to the clear prosecution of opposition party members and figures, President Yoon has also come under fire for appointing friendly figures and those aligned with him to positions of power, such as Justice Minister Han Dong-Hoon. When an elected leader only appoints people close to him and people that agree with him to positions of power, the government becomes too close-knit and the possibilities of corruption grow exponentially. When a leader only has his friends around him, who could possibly challenge his power? 

The most clear sign of democratic erosion under the new president is his erosion of free speech in South Korea. Under the former president, free speech had already taken massive hits, with media negative to the president often being censored under multiple guises, especially the “national security” argument. Under President Yoon, things have gotten even worse.  

The biggest example of President Yoon attacking the media is when he was caught using foul language by an MBC reporter while in the United States. The president filed a defamation lawsuit against the group, clearly not pleased with the negative reporting of him. This is just one of the many examples of the president attacking free speech. From numerous raids on media companies to threats of violence to a strict one-strike rule on media for spreading “malicious false information,” the president has allowed almost no room for criticism of him, his family, or his administration. Ozan Varol describes what stealth authoritarianism is in his work, “Stealth Authoritarianism.” Stealth authoritarianism deals with leaders who undermine democracy under the guise of the law. The exploitation of things like the one-strike rule and the “national security” excuse that has been used by the South Korean government are examples of a leader exploiting the law for personal or political gain, doing so in a “stealthy” way that benefitted him and his party.

The president has become something of a “strongman” in South Korea. He has cultivated an environment where the government does not always take accountability, his actions are not questioned, and opposition is snuffed out like a candle. Strikes are often shut down quickly. Women and people with disabilities are becoming more and more marginalized, with very few women holding government positions. Members of the LGBTQ+ community have also been ostracized, with Korea’s outdated anti-sodomy rule for the military upheld by the current president. 

This does not mean that South Korea’s democracy has fallen apart. While the president has shown obvious signs of democratic erosion and stretching his presidential powers, democracy is still very much intact. However, the signs of erosion are seeping through the cracks, and if the issue is not tackled sooner rather than later, the erosion may begin to speed up. If you are a South Korean, there is no need to panic just yet. However, I would keep my eyes open, because sometimes things spiral negatively quicker than anyone can react. Democratic erosion is just another example of that.