Reason why we should part with imperial presidency

President Yoon Suk-yeol's December 3 emergency martial law incident is a defining event in the history of why we need to say goodbye to an imperial presidency. While the declaration of martial law was solely the result of Yoon's erratic and unconstitutional judgment, the presidential system's inability to exercise minimal controls exposed its limitations as a system. Many argue that presidential authority should be decentralized and checks and balances should be strengthened to prevent a situation where a single person's misjudgment can plunge the entire country into chaos, or where factional confrontation reaches such extremes that “common sense judgment” becomes impossible. A new power structure is needed.


Most of South Korea's presidents have met tragic ends. Most of them wielded a sword of powerful authority as the head of state, but in the end, they cut themselves with it. This indirectly shows the limitations and contradictions of an imperial presidential system where excessive power is concentrated in one person.

Former presidents Rhee Syngman and Park Chung-hee clearly demonstrated the potential of the presidential system to turn into a dictatorship. Former president Lee held power for 12 years as the 1st, the 2nd, and the 3rd president, and Park held power for 16 years as the 5th to the 9th president. Concentrated power corrupts individuals, and corrupt individuals do not let go of power. Lee was ousted in the 4.19 Revolution in 1960 after the 3.15 fraudulent election. And former President Park lost his life in the 10.26 Assassination. The subsequent dictatorship of the 11th and 12th presidents, Chun Doo-hwan, sparked popular resistance, and democratization in 1987 replaced the presidential system with a single-term system. This created minimal controls that prevented the imperial presidency from degenerating into a long-term dictatorship.

But the tragedy of presidential system continued. Presidents have repeatedly met unfortunate ends, either by being brought to justice or taking their own lives. Five of the eight single-term presidents since democratization have either been jailed or had impeachment charges brought against them in parliament. Even in single-term presidencies, the imperial nature of the presidency has intensified. Presidents have neither the opportunity nor the need to undergo interim evaluations.

Former President Roh Tae-woo received a suspended sentence for his role in the 12.12 Military Insurrection, but the disclosure of the details of the slush fund sparked public outcry and eventually led to his legal punishment. Former President Lee Myung-bak was sentenced to 17 years in prison after he was arrested on charges including raising a slush fund. Former President Park Geun-hye was removed from office by the Constitutional Court after the National Assembly voted to impeach her, and her 22-year prison sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court on bribery charges. Former presidents Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung were stigmatized by investigations into their families, although they were not themselves punished. Former President Roh Moo-hyun also took his own life as prosecution investigations into his family members escalated.

“Even former President Park Geun-hye, who thought there was no family risk, ended up giving up power due to the secret aides,” an official who worked at the Cheongwadae during Park's administration told a reporter on January 1. Corruption of the president himself or herself, their family, and aides cannot be attributed to the presidential system. However, chances are high that such corruption will occur more frequently under the imperial presidency, where power is concentrated.


Many analysts say that the tragic end of presidents was often attributed to winner-takes-all political polarization. While the investigation of the predecessor regime is a kind of formula, it is one thing that the former president is aimed at the tip of a sword and wielding it is another matter. Political circles see the investigation against former President Roh Moo-hyun under next former president Lee Myung-bak regime as a “trigger” for political confrontation and polarization. Excessive investigation against the former president led to his death, and there was a reaction from the liberal camp, including the Democratic Party of Korea. The birth of President Yoon Suk-yeol administration is also pointed out as a fragment generated by the war between conservatives and liberals.

“The presidential system or the parliamentary system should be seen as a matter of choice, like jajangmyeon or jjamppong, not as a matter of what is more right,” said a political insider, adding, “The political sphere is now in a state of revenge warfare. The presidential system is no longer meaningful because it is not a structure that allows for mutual agreement.”

“The biggest reason for the repeated impeachment is the intensifying political polarization in our society and the political forces that have taken advantage of it,” Yoo Yoo-jin, a professor at the Scranton College of Ewha Womans University School, told Kyunghyang Shinmun. “To alleviate this, we need a constitutional amendment that focuses on weakening presidential powers and a revolution in the political party system centered on the two major parties.”

Yoon's presidency has been a period in which the dangers of the presidential system have been dramatized in many ways. Yoon has sought to run the country on his own, effectively rejecting the process of consultation with the opposition through the use of veto power and the rule of enforcement ordinance. He has also issued unilateral instructions to the ruling party, solidifying the vertical relationship between the ruling party and the government. Many pointed out that Yoon was ultimately responsible for the confrontational situation in the 21st and 22nd National Assembly. “When he was elected, if someone advised him, 'It may not be easy to run the country because of the big opposition party,' he would reply, 'I can run it well with veto power and executive orders,'” said a pro-Yoon Seok-yeol official, “which is completely different from what politicians usually say.” President Yoon saw no need for cooperation and viewed the opposition as the enemy. In the process, the confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties intensified. The way the National Assembly operated was completely changed by the president's personal judgment. Yoon's insistence on expanding the number of medical school admissions by 2,000 students, which was opposed not only by the opposition parties but also by the ruling party and public opinion, is another example of the dangers of an imperial presidency.

Yoon's declaration of martial law also demonstrated the extent to which the president can go. When Yoon declared martial law on December 3, he reportedly excluded senior members of his staff, including presidential secretary Chung Jin-suk. A senior member of the presidential office was having dinner with reporters on the day of Yoon's martial law announcement. He was only allowed into the Yongsan presidential office at around 10 p.m., shortly before the announcement, to hear what was going on.

The cabinet meeting process also appears to have been more of a personal decision. In holding the cabinet meeting to declare emergency martial law, Yoon was focused on achieving a quorum. Some ministers were informed halfway through that the quorum was already full. The ministers had no control over the president and functioned merely as a means to fill the quorum. Based on the testimonies of cabinet members who attended the cabinet meeting, a majority of the ministers opposed the declaration of martial law, but Yoon ignored it. There was virtually no discussion.

Cho Jin-man, a professor of political science and diplomacy at Duksung Women's University, said that “The current constitution cannot prevent a second Yoon Suk-yeol. “We need to move away from the winner-take-all system, and even if we keep the presidential system, we need to make institutional changes that reduce presidential power.” “Now is the time to draw a grand design, a big picture, for political reform in Korea,” he said, emphasizing that “the zeitgeist of the next president should be to overcome the ’87-year-old system’ and create something new.”



Reason why we should part with imperial presidency

경향신문 주요뉴스

· 윤석열, ‘법 기술’ 안 통하자 시민에 총동원령…‘체포’ 앞 마지막 몸부림
· 태양 왜 이러나…지자기 폭풍 ‘심각’ 단계로 높아져
· 드라마 찍겠다고 세계문화유산에 못질?…KBS 드라마 논란
· 대통령실 실장·수석 일단 출근···참모들은 왜 사표를 냈을까?
· KBS 시청자위원들 “내란 표현 검토 했어야” “군 사기 진작 프로 만들라”
· 윤석열 체포영장에 이례적으로 ‘형소법 적용 예외’ 명시한 법원, 왜?
· 극우 커뮤니티서 “민주노총, 경호처 총기사용 유도할 것” 괴소문 유포
· 윤석열 편지에 침묵하는 여당 지도부…당 내부에선 옹호·비판 뒤섞여
· ‘윤석열 사병’된 대통령경호처…“경호 기능 이전 등 권력 통제 장치 시급”
· “한강 위 대교 난간에 학생이”…잘못 들어선 동호대교에서 고등학생 구한 40대

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