Has South Korean democracy hit a glass ceiling? Institutional‐cultural factors and limits to democratic progress

Abstract

AbstractThis article critically examines the state of South Korea’s consolidated democracy in the post‐2016 Candlelight period. More specifically, I identify a “glass ceiling” in raising the quality of South Korean democracy, drawing attention to institutional‐cultural factors as an underlying barrier for further democratic progress. Political culture reinforces existing institutional design flaws such as a strong executive and a weak political party system. This in turn creates a permissive environment encouraging ruling parties to protect the presidency and implement the Blue House’s agenda through means which do not necessarily comport with liberal democracy. After presenting data from several indexes that measure the quality of democracy in South Korea, I discuss how institutions and culture interact to limit democratic advancement. I then use the Sewol ferry disaster during the conservative Park Geun‐hye administration and implementation of South Korea’s inter‐Korea engagement policy during the progressive Moon Jae‐in government to illustrate my argument.