Democratization in Korea and its influence on the Constitution

Date

2001

Authors

Park, Won Soon

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Division of Pacific and Asia History, The Australian National University.

Abstract

[Conclusion]: Political parties have disputes over the presidential system and the parliamentary system according to their gains from each. Political power whose stronghold is mainly from a certain region espouses a parliamentary government system because the presidential system can ensure nothing for them unless they become president. It shows that politicians can take advantage of the Constitution and political system for their own gains. People and civil organizations that do not have interests in the matter also ask for revision. Items to be revised are as follows. 1. Insertion of the concept of Participatory Democracy into the Prelude of the Constitution. 2. Voting rights should be expanded to the age of 18 3. Introduction of a Public Hearing system on the Occasion of Confirmation of high-ranking public servants 4. The Prosecutor General's duty of being present in Parliament and duty to answer questions There is no contingency for Koreans to suffer from a military coup in Korea any longer. Democratic changes of regimes between ruling and opposition party have been made. The president is allowed for only a single term and there is no possibility of long-term reign. Therefore the possibility for power abuse has been greatly reduced. However, in the same way as Rome was not built in a day, the Korean people have a long way to go to achieve high quality democracy. And it cant be achieved for free without paying the price of struggle.

Description

Keywords

political system

Citation

Source

Type

Conference paper

Book Title

Constitutions and Human Rights in a Global Age: an Asia Pacific perspective Symposium (2001 : The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT)

Entity type

Access Statement

Open Access

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DOI

Restricted until

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