A History of Korea (92 page)

By early 1981 Chun’s authoritarian regime was modeled after the Yushin system. To justify his military-backed rule, Chun pledged to achieve strong national security, political and social stability, and economic development. Even though he had created an illegitimate regime, thwarted any aspirations toward democracy, and was unpopular among the masses, Chun fancied himself as Korea’s Abraham Lincoln.

To prepare for the National Assembly election, Chun formed a new ruling party, the Democratic Justice Party (
DJP
), in January 1981, which was soon followed by the emergence of a docile opposition party, the Democratic Korea Party (
DKP
), led by opposition politicians willing to cooperate with the Chun regime. To form the opposition party, Chun lifted the ban on the political activity of certain opposition politicians. The election law provided for two-member elections in each of the local constituencies, guaranteeing two-thirds of the at-large proportional representation seats to whichever party elected the largest number of candidates. In the National Assembly elections, held on 25 March 1981, the
DJP
won 151 seats in the 276-member Assembly, and the
DKP
obtained
81 seats. Thus Chun’s ruling party secured a clear majority in the legislature. Meanwhile, the more dedicated opposition politicians who were still banned from political activity would soon coalesce around Kim Young-sam.

By 1982 Chun Doo-hwan had a firm grip on power. He consolidated his control by dominating the court system, making efficient use of the state security apparatus to his own advantage, tightening censorship over the media, and appointing his close colleagues such as Roh Tae-woo and loyal subordinates to high positions in the government. Opportunely, after a slump in 1979–1981, the South Korean economy resumed its rapid growth, and this contributed greatly to Chun’s iron-fist control. Seeking to win popular support by freeing his country from the austerity enforced by his predecessor, he eased restrictions on overseas travel on 1 August 1981, lifted the midnight-to-four curfew on 5 January 1982, and abolished school uniforms and strict hair regulations in middle schools and high schools on 2 March 1983.
⁷
Despite these measures, Chun Doo-hwan never gained the trust of the people.

From mid-1982 on, the situation became increasingly unfavorable to Chun. In May 1982 the first of a number of financial scandals involving his in-laws was disclosed. Soon there were revelations of “Fifth Republic irregularities,” corruption scandals all deeply associated with influence-peddling by Chun’s in-laws, greatly damaging Chun’s political and moral legitimacy. Given this opportunity to challenge Chun’s power, Kim Young-sam, still under house arrest, went on a hunger strike in May 1983 to protest Chun’s repressive rule and urge the opposition to mount an antigovernment struggle. A year later, on 18 May 1984, Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung, the latter still in exile in the United States, organized the Consultative Committee for the Promotion of Democracy (
CCPD
), a broad coalition of dissidents, to advance the restoration of democracy.

Prepared for the forthcoming National Assembly elections, opposition politicians in the
CCPD
, who had recently been freed from the ban on their political activity, formed the New Korea Democratic Party (
NKDP
) on 18 January 1985. The new party stunned the Chun regime by capturing 67 seats in the 276-member National Assembly elections held on 12 February 1985. The ruling Democratic Justice Party won 148 seats, and the existing opposition Democratic Korea Party obtained only 35 seats. Soon most of the elected members from the previous demoralized opposition party joined the new
NKDP
. Led by the two Kims, the opposition members used this power to aggressively challenge Chun with demands for a constitutional amendment.

In the fierce struggle for democracy, the election process was a key issue. The South Korean population preferred presidential election by direct popular vote, but the constitutional amendment controversy centered not only on direct voting but also on the structure of government—whether it should be presidential (as in the United States), parliamentary (as in Great Britain or Japan), or “dual executive” (as in France).

Chun often repeated his earlier pledge to be the first South Korean president to leave office through a peaceful transfer of power after serving his single seven-year term. As the event drew near, however, Chun increasingly sought to have his longtime associate and friend, Roh Tae-woo, succeed him by any means. The opposition protested, demanding a constitutional amendment establishing an electoral process whereby the president would be chosen by popular vote. The opposition amendment drew wide public support. Yielding to pressure from both the opposition and the general population, Chun, in April 1986, reluctantly allowed a new constitution to be drafted. During the drafting process, the ruling Democratic Justice Party advocated a parliamentary system with a figurehead president, whereas the opposition stood for a directly elected president. Each side’s preference for the structure of government reflected its specific strength. The
DJP
’s dominance was in its organization skills and powers of patronage, whereas the opposition was disunited. The
DJP
, however, lacked a national candidate who, like the opposition’s Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung, could command general popularity in a direct election. Therefore the opposition, with its powerful national leaders appealing to the electorate, were more likely to gain power in a direct vote. If it could put up a single candidate in the presidential election, it would be sure of victory. Meanwhile the gen eral population, weary of Chun’s authoritarian rule, yearned for a democratic government. In 1986 four university students, in a plea for democratization, took their own lives. In that same year, more than 3,400 protesters were arrested.

The opposition split in the spring of 1987, when New Korea Democratic Party leader Yi Min-u sought to compromise with the ruling party on the constitutional amendment. Seventy-four
NKDP
lawmakers, under the influence of Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung, left the party on 9 April. On 1 May they inaugurated a new political party, the Reunification Democratic Party (
RDP
), with Kim Young-sam as the leader, aided by Kim Dae-jung, still formally banned from political activity. Meanwhile, on 13 April 1987, Chun declared an end to all discussion of the constitutional amendment until after the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
This meant that the next president would be elected indirectly by the existing electoral college, meaning, specifically, that Chun would select his successor.

It did not take long for Chun to find out he had made a mistake. His announcement to maintain the Fifth Republic constitution gave the opposition major momentum to go on the offensive with immediate and vociferous protests. The ensuing public outcry led to massive demonstrations, with student dissent gathering strength daily. When it was revealed that the police had tortured a Seoul National University student to death, the Chun regime was so damaged politically and morally that, by June 1987, its end was in sight.

On 10 June 1987 the Democratic Justice Party convention nominated Roh Tae-woo as its presidential candidate. Within hours of the nomination, massive protests against the Chun government erupted in Seoul, soon spreading to more than 30 cities throughout the country. Daily violent clashes pitted student protesters against the riot police, with police tear gas countered by demonstrators throwing stones. To Chun’s dismay, the protests drew widespread sympathy and support from conservative white-collar workers as never before.

On 24 June, with street demonstrations still going on, Chun Doo-whan met with opposition leader Kim Young-sam to solve the political crisis but without success. Although Chun expressed his willingness to resume talks on constitutional reform, the antigovernment demonstrations went on unabated. On 26 June more than one million protesters participated in street demonstrations in 37 cities nationwide. In Seoul violent demonstrations, reminiscent of street fighting, continued far into the night. Chun could not crush the protests by force without risking a “second Kwangju.” Unable to endure the burden of another major loss of life, Chun had to surrender to the demands of the opposition.

On 29 June, with Chun’s encouragement, Roh Tae-woo shocked South Koreans by accepting the direct presidential election, meeting the opposition’s central demand. In his “29 June Declaration” Roh also advocated complete amnesty for Kim Dae-jung, as well as freedom of speech, autonomy for universities, and other liberal measures. Amid national jubilation, Roh’s dramatic declaration ended the political crisis of June 1987.

As South Korea achieved impressive economic development under authoritarian rule, the discrepancy between economic growth and political backwardness gave rise to public discontent. Toward the end of the Chun regime, South
Koreans demanded an end to military-backed authoritarian rule; to this end, the political upheaval, known as the “June Resistance,” became a pivotal moment in South Korean politics, as it aimed to destroy authoritarianism and instead establish a civil, democratic society under the rule of law. South Korea was now on the path to full-fledged democracy.

The Chun Doo-hwan period was filled with many political problems arising from Chun’s illegitimate seizure of power and harsh repression. His regime’s inherent illegitimacy eclipsed a few achievements, especially continuing economic development, which it had produced. Because his Fifth Republic lacked legitimacy, the Chun regime failed to win public trust and support to the end. The South Korean population generally considered Chun to have stripped the nation of the opportunity to restore democracy. Having devoted himself only to imitating his predecessor, Park Chung-hee, Chun was perhaps a failed president. In a 2008
KBS I
Radio opinion poll, Chun was cited as the worst president in the nation’s history.
⁸
Although he ruled his country in an authoritarian manner, however, his power and authority were much weaker than Park’s. Despite his nickname, the “slaughterer of Kwangku,” he did one thing that gained public favor: he kept his pledge not to seek reelection.

Although Chun Doo-hwan remained in office until late February 1988, his Fifth Republic virtually ended on 27 October 1987, when a national referendum overwhelmingly approved the new constitution for the Sixth Republic. The new constitution provided for direct election of the president, with a single five-year term. The presidency was weakened, however, by losing the power to declare a national emergency by decree. The legislature became stronger, with the National Assembly granted new rights to investigate state affairs and approve prime ministerial and Supreme Court appointments. The constitution, a thoroughly democratic document, also guaranteed freedom of political activity, of the press, assembly, and speech.

In the latter part of 1987 South Koreans witnessed a four-way presidential race between Roh Tae-woo, Kim Young-sam, Kim Dae-jung, and Kim Jong-pil. Because Chun and military rule had been so unpopular, it was widely assumed that Roh could not win the presidency by direct popular vote. Both Chun and Roh were confident in a victory, however, because in the 1980s the
DJP
had won some 35 percent of the popular vote in every election. The two men firmly believed, moreover, that the two most prominent opposition leaders,
Kim Young -sam and Kim Dae-jung, could not reach agreement on a single, unified candidate.

Indeed, the presence of two powerful leaders was a central problem for the opposition. The two Kims were actually lifetime rivals rather than colleagues; their rivalry dated back to the 1960s, when, as promising young politicians, each viewed the other as a predestined contestant, and each had a different geographical and political base. In 1970 the two men, in their forties at that time, contended for the presidential nomination of the New Democratic Party against the incumbent president Park Chung-hee. Kim Dae-jung emerged victorious in the nomination convention, with the support of the Yi Ch’
ŏ
l-s
ŭ
ng faction from the same Ch
ŏ
lla region. When the two men united to lead South Korea’s struggle for democracy, they were a formidable force, but in their current struggle for power, they were competitive and disunited. As expected, they failed to put up a unified candidate for the forthcoming presidential election. In the end, Roh won the presidency.

On 12 November 1987 Kim Dae-jung started his own political party, the Peace and Democracy Party (
PDP
), to run for the presidency. With Kim Jong-pil trailing far behind other candidates, the virtually three-way presidential election was held on 16 December 1987. In the absence of a run-off system, Roh won the presidency with only 36.6 percent of the vote. Kim Young-sam obtained 28.0 percent; Kim Dae-jung, 27.0 percent; and Kim Jong-pil, 8.0 percent.

In prior elections, the government party dominated in rural districts, and the opposition party dominated in urban areas. But the 1987 presidential election was characterized by regionalism, with each candidate winning an overwhelming vote from his region of origin—Roh Tae-woo from the Taegu-North Ky
ŏ
ngsang region, Kim Young-sam from the Pusan-South Ky
ŏ
ngsang region, Kim Dae-jung from the Kwangju-Ch
ŏ
lla region, and Kim Jong-pil from the Ch’ungch’
ŏ
ng region. This was reminiscent of the rivalry of Chinese warlords occupying their own territories, and it set a precedent for all subsequent presidential, National Assembly, and local elections; each party would secure an absolutely superior position in its own regional stronghold.

Roh’s victory in the first truly popular election for the presidency since 1971 gave him the political legitimacy Chun had lacked. When he was sworn in as president of the Sixth Republic and began his five-year term on 25 February 1988, he sought to liberalize all institutions and sectors of South Korea. Thus it was under his administration that the era of true democracy finally began in South Korea.