History of South Korea - Sixth Republic

Sixth Republic

The Sixth Republic began in 1987 and remains the current republic of South Korea (2012). It started with the election of Roh Tae-woo as president for the 13th presidential term in the first direct presidential election in 16 years. Although Roh was from a military background and one of the leaders of Chun's coup d'etat, the inability of the opposition leaders Kim Dae Jung and Kim Young Sam to agree on a unified candidacy led to his being elected.

Roh was officially inaugurated in February 1988. The government set out to eliminate past vestiges of authoritarian rule, by revising laws and decrees to fit democratic provisions. Freedom of press was expanded, university autonomy recognised, and restrictions on overseas travels were lifted. However, the growth of the economy had slowed down compared to the 80s, with strong labor unions and higher wages reducing the competitiveness of Korean products on the international market, resulting in stagnant exports, while commodity prices kept on rising.

Shortly after Roh's inauguration, the Seoul Olympics took place, raising South Korea's international recognition and also greatly influencing foreign policy. Roh's government announced the official unification plan, Nordpolitik, established diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union, China, and countries in East Europe.

An historic event was held in 1990 when North Korea accepted the proposal for exchange between the two Koreas, resulting in high-level talks, cultural and sports exchange. In 1991, a joint communique on denuclearization agreed upon, and the two Koreas simultaneously became members of the UN .

When Roh's tenure was over, Kim Young-sam was elected president in the 1992 elections. He was the country's first civilian president in 30 years and he promised to build a "New Korea". The government set out to correct the mistakes of the previous administrations. Local government elections were held in 1995, and parliamentary elections in 1996. Adhering to popular demand, former presidents Chun and Roh were both indicted on charges linked to bribery, illegal funds, and in the case of Chun, responsibility for the incident in Gwangju. They were tried and sentenced to prison in December, 1996.

Relations with the North improved and a summit meeting was planned, but was postponed indefinitely with the death of Kim Il Sung. Tensions varied between the two Koreas thereafter, with cycle of small military skirmishes and apologies. The government also carried out substantial financial and economical reforms, joined the OECD in 1996, but met crisis with political and financial scandals. The country also faced various catastrophes at the time; train collision and ship sinking in 1993, Seoul's Seongsu Bridge and Sampoong Department Store collapsing in 1994. These incidents, which claimed many lives, were a blow to the civilian government.

In 1997, the nation suffered a severe financial crisis and the government had to approach the International Monetary Fund for relief funds. This was the limit to what the nation could bear and led to the opposition leader Kim Dae-jung winning the presidency in the same year.

Kim Dae-jung was officially inaugurated in February, 1998. South Korea had maintained its commitment to democratize its political processes and this was the first transfer of the government between parties by peaceful means. Kim's government faced the daunting task of overcoming the economic crisis, but with the joint efforts of the government's aggressive pursuit of foreign investment, industry's cooperation and the citizen's gold-collecting campaign, the country was able to come out of the crisis in a relatively short period of time.

Industrial reconstruction of the big conglomerate chaebols were pursued, a national pension system was established in 1998, educational reforms were carried out, government support for the IT field was increased, and notable cultural properties were registered as UNESCO Cultural Heritage sites. The 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted with Japan, brought upon a new culture where millions of supporters gather to cheer in public places.

In diplomacy, Kim Dae-jung pursued the "Sunshine Policy", a series of efforts to reconcile with North Korea. This culminated in reunions of the separated families of the Korean War, and the summit talk with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. For these efforts, Kim Dae-jung was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000. However, as North Korea did not cooperate for a peaceful coexistence, and with the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 changing the US's view on North Korea, the efficacy of the Sunshine Policy was brought into question. With the added allegations of corruption, support waned in the later years of the administration.

Roh Moo-hyun was elected to the presidency in December 2002 by direct election. His victory came with much support from the younger generation and civic groups who had hopes of a participatory democracy, and Roh's administration consequently launched with the motto of "participation government". Unlike the previous governments, the administration decided to take a long-term view and execute market-based reforms at a gradual pace. This approach did not please the public, however, and by the end of 2003, approval ratings were falling.

The Roh administration succeeded in overcoming regionalism in South Korean politics, diluting the collusive ties between politics and business, empowering the civil society, settling the Korea-United States FTA issue, continuing summit talks with North Korea, and launching the high-speed train system, KTX. But despite a boom in the stock market, youth unemployment rates were high, real estate prices skyrocketed and the economy lagged.

In March 2004, the National Assembly voted to impeach Roh on charges of breach of election laws and corruption. This motion rallied his supporters and affected the outcome of the parliamentary election held in April, with the ruling party becoming the majority. Roh was reinstated in May by the Constitutional Court, who had overturned the verdict. However, the ruling party then lost its majority in by-elections in 2005, as discontinued reform plans, continual labor unrest, Roh's personal feuds with the media, diplomatic friction with the United States and Japan, caused criticism of the government's incompetence of political, socioeconomical issues and foreign affairs.

Roh Moo-hyun and his family members were investigated for bribery and corruption in April 2009. Roh denied the charges, but subsequently committed suicide by jumping into a ravine on May 23, 2009.

Roh's successor, Lee Myung-bak, was inaugurated in February, 2008. Stating "creative pragmatism" as a guiding principle, Lee's administration set out to revitalize the flagging economy, re-energize diplomatic ties, stabilize social welfare, and meet the challenges of globalization. In April 2008, the ruling party secured a majority the National Assembly elections. Also that month, summit talks with the United States helped ease the tension between the two countries caused by the previous administrations' policy towards North Korea, and the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement was discussed. Lee agreed to lift the ban on US beef imports, which caused massive protests and demonstrations in the months that followed, as paranoia of potential mad cow disease gripped the country.

Many issues plagued the government in the beginning of the administration: controversies regarding appointment of high-ranking government officials, rampant political conflicts, accusations of oppression of media and strained diplomatic relationships with North Korea and Japan. The economy turned for worse as the global recession hit the country; the worst economic crisis since 1997. The Lee administration tackled these issues by actively issuing statements, timely reshuffling the cabinet, and implementing administrative and industrial reforms.

After regulatory and economic reforms, the economy has bounced back, with the country's economy marking growth and apparently recovering from the global recession. The administration has also pursued to improve diplomatic relations with active summit talks: the United States; Korea-China-Japan Summits; and the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit to strengthen ties with other Asian countries. The 2010 G20 summit was held in Seoul, where issues regarding the global economic crisis were discussed.