CHOI JANG-JIP: KOREA NOT YET MATURE DEMOCRACY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 002400

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/10/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KN KS
SUBJECT: CHOI JANG-JIP: KOREA NOT YET MATURE DEMOCRACY

Classified By: POL Joseph Y. Yun. Reasons 1.4 (b,d).


1. (C) Summary: Legendary political scientist and Korea
University emeritus Choi Jang-jip told poloff on December 11
that he thought Korea had not fully democratized and that the
main hurdle to this goal was an overly strong central
government. Choi, a college classmate of President Lee
Myung-bak and a prominent liberal scholar, had no kind words
for his erstwhile friend, saying that Lee was attempting to
use the levers of executive power to such an extent that he
was worried that Korea, instead of become a "better"
democracy, might be headed back toward a more authoritarian
era. The next step Korea should take to avoid this
regression was to provide institutions of government, either
through reform or elections, that would seek to protect the
weak and less privileged. Choi said he thought the current
practices were so entrenched those with vested interests
would likely successfully maintain the current system. End
Summary

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Constitutional Reform Needed
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2. (C) Korea's foremost liberal/progressive expert on
democratization and professor emeritus at Korea University,
Choi Jang-jip told poloff on December 11 that Korea's
constitution was written in 1987 based largely on the U.S.
model, but checks on the executive branch were largely left
out. The main focus was to democratize while maintaining
control over the populace so that continued economic
development would be possible. Therefore, the court and
legal system were placed firmly under executive branch
control. In addition, people in Korea were so used to
massive power being held by the central government during the
authoritarian period, they did not and still do not question
a strong executive branch.


3. (C) Choi noted that the current discussion about a
constitutional reform in Korea was largely focused on
changing the current single-term presidency to a two-term
presidency, but that some, like him, were arguing for a
constitutional reform that would address the shortcomings in
the system. He thought that unless the system was changed to
decrease the power of the president, Korean democracy would
not evolve further.

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Representation or Demonstration
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4. (C) To be more representative, Korea should develop a
system that allowed more people access to and communication
with the government. Particularly, a more advanced democracy
should focus more on protecting the under privileged. Since
the weak are not represented and generally have limited
access to the government, the only avenue for those with
complaints about the government is to demonstrate. Choi
predicted that since President Lee was attempting to control
labor and others not supportive of him in the name of
economic recovery, large-scale protests such as the ones
surrounding U.S. beef could become a staple of Lee's tenure.

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"DP Has No Realistic Vision"
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5. (C) Choi, who played a prominent role in the Kim Dae-jung
government as Chair of the Policy Planning Committee to the
President, said that the leadership of the opposition
Democratic Party (DP) offered no realistic vision or
alternative to the GNP and President Lee. Veterans of the
fight for democracy in the 1980s had failed to focus on
pushing for needed changes in the system of government and
therefore, they were largely ignored by the Korean people.
They focused too much on ideology and therefore not only
failed to offer needed alternatives for the structure of the
government, they also had lost the support of the Korean
people. He said he was not optimistic that the progressives
would address the situation with any practical alternatives.

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School Ties
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6. (C) Choi, a college classmate of Lee Myung-bak, said that
he and Lee had followed such divergent paths since graduation
that he did not keep up the close friendship they had during
college. Other classmates had played a prominent role in
getting Lee elected in 2007 and Choi said many were upset now
because they could not even contact President Lee.


7. (C) One of Choi's University of Chicago fellow alums, Kim
Tae-hyo, is now the Deputy National Security Advisor. Choi
said Kim was so set in his ways it made it difficult to
adjust North Korea policy even though thus far it had failed.
He said there were too many inflexible thinkers in the Lee
government that made it difficult for them to acknowledge the
"Denuclearization, Opening, 3000" plan needed to be adjusted.


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Comment
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8. (C) Choi is widely hailed as one of Korea's top academics
and even conservatives grudgingly acknowledge the U of
Chicago PhD's credentials and insights. Critical of the
current president as well as the opposition, he continues to
fight the good fight trying to push Korea to evolve into a
more mature democracy.
STEPHENS