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The South Korean Military and Its Political Role
| Article
# : |
10396 |
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Section : |
Modern Thought
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| Issue
Date : |
12 / 1986 |
6,306 Words |
| Author
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C.I. Eugene Kim
C.I. Eugene Kim is professor and chairman of the Asian Studies
Program at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
An earlier version of this paper was given at a conference co-
sponsored by The World & I and Korean PWPA. |
Introduction
At the time of writing, a mood of optimism and euphoria appears to be afloat in South Korea, this in spite of deep national concern with unceasing student activism and increasing radicalization. Both the ruling and opposition parties have agreed to work on a new constitution, the sixth since South Korea became an independent republic in 1948. According to the Korea Herald, "The unanimous passage of a resolution [by the National Assembly] on the formation of the Special Constitution Revision Committee on Tuesday [June 24, 1986] testified to the viability of the current mood for 'grand compromise.'" To cite further from the same paper:
Some political observers interpreted the passage as a valuable opportunity to replace politics of confrontation and conflict with the politics of compromise and harmony.
Other political observers hailed it as the starting point for working out a compromise bill for constitutional reform for the first time in the nation's history.
The majority of the people are excited at the prospect of having a new constitution in the near future.
Well aware of the people's aspirations for democracy, rival political parties are fully poised to initiate the historical work of rewriting the present basic law.
The concept of the so-called "grand compromise" is indeed an extraordinary development. The party in power has agreed with opposition forces to rewrite the constitution in order to bring about a peaceful transfer of power when the term of the incumbent President Chun Doo-hwan expires in 1988. This paper is an attempt to analyze the recent turn of events within South Korea and to discuss the role (potential and possible) of the military in South Korean politics. Such roles have been historically decisive since President Chun came into power through military coup, as did the late President Park before him.
The Rise of the Military in Power
As early as 1962, S.M. Finer pointed out:
The Armed Forces have three massive political advantages over civilian organizations: a marked superiority in organization, a highly
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