Korean Studies Internet Discussion List KOREAN STUDIES REVIEW
Elites and Political Power in South Korea, by Byong-Man Ahn, 2003. Cheltenham and Northampton, UK: Edward Elgar. 339 pages. (ISBN 1-84064-971-2)
reviewed by Carl J. Saxer
University of CopenhagenElites and Political Power in South Korea is based on earlier work on the Korean government by Byong-Man Ahn published in Korean and takes part in a longstanding debate in political science, and especially within studies of democracy, concerning the formation and importance of elites within the political system. Divided into five sections and 14 chapters, the book ambitiously attempts to analyze whether the "vicious cycle of domineering [is] an outgrowth of Korea's native culture" and whether this authoritarianism is "characteristic of developing countries in their quest for political stability and economic growth" (x).
Part One, which contains a single chapter, situates the changes Korea has undergone within a global context, and introduces the concepts of "critical elections" and "cycle of dominance," which, the author argues, are valuable tools for analyzing political developments in Korea (9). Part Two, consisting of four chapters, deals with developments in the bureaucracy until the time of national division and discusses the importance of political culture. The author argues that the "hierarchical and collective consciousness" at the center of the "Confucian-oriented bureaucracy" survived colonial rule "without being significantly altered" (45). The author claims that while Korea after liberation "shrug[ged] off the Japanese pattern of authoritarian rule," the people gave "tacit recognition to Korea's authoritarianism," and that the absence of any significant difference between the two resulted in their "blending" and the subsequent reinforcement of Korean attitudes " attuned to and compliant with authoritarian rule" (47).
Part Three, whose five chapters make it the longest portion of the book, analyzes the major shifts in power in the post-division period. Although it does not bring forth new information, Chapter Six provides an adequate overview of how the opposition parties reacted to the increasingly authoritarian bent of the nation's leaders during the post-war period, and how ruling elites, among them the president of the first republic, "Rhi Syng Man" [sic], increasingly turned to violent suppression of the opposition. In the following chapter, the author gives an excellent overview of the changes in Korean governmental structure since the First Republic. In fact, the book is at its best when the author analyses the Korean government's administrative structure. Chapter Eight is a brief but detailed analysis of Korean presidents from Rhee to Kim Young Sam. This chapter, like most, offers an interesting theoretical discussion that attempts to link empirical data to ongoing debates within political science. The analysis in Chapter Seven, for example, is based on a survey conducted in 1992 and repeated in 1997 among more than 200 political scientists and administrators, which was designed to "illuminate a way out of the vicious cycle of tragic terminations of the presidency and to open new vistas for a politics responsive to new social conditions and social aspirations for the twenty-first century" (131). Unfortunately, how this goal is to be achieved is not explained, and the author arrives at a conclusion unsurprising to those who follow current political attitudes in Korea that Park Chung Hee remains the most admired leader of Korea.
Next, in what is without doubt the strongest chapter in the book, the author turns to an analysis of the ruling elites in Korea. Tracking such issues as family background, education, prior career, and how recruitment took place from the First Republic to the present, the author convincingly argues that, although "meritocracy has found its niche in the bureaucratic hierarchy" (191), the ruling elite remains narrow and dominated by the graduates of a few select universities. Chapter Ten consists of an analysis of what the author terms "crucial election." He argues, that for an election to merit designation as "crucial," significant political change must take place due to the election result (195). In the author's view, only elections resulting in an opposition political party capable of "significantly challenging the government" can be deemed crucial (197). Using Samuel Huntington's work on party development and a detailed analysis of National Assembly elections, the author argues that the development of political parties in Korea have "evolved through the repetitious cycle of four stages" (207). He claims that while the period prior to the Yushin regime was characterized by the "vicious cycle of party development," developments since 1985 show evidence of a party system settling into a "stable pattern" in which the "concept of crucial elections will no longer hold true" (219). While this chapter does an excellent job of analyzing electoral developments as such, however, the usage, definition and argument on "crucial elections" strikes this reviewer as circular, as all elections leading to significant change are deemed "crucial elections," solely on the basis of the change that resulted from the election.
In Part Four, Ahn examines the dynamics of what he terms the "intra-political" system. Chapter Eleven analyses the administrative set-up with a focus on relations between central and local governments. After an informed theoretical discussion, he examines the issue of decentralization versus centralization. Again, here, in analysis of administrative structure, he is at his best. The author argues that while the civic movement for democracy in the 1980s "posed a new threat to the dominance of the central government" (242), centuries-long Confucianism has "reduced local governments into a pale shadow" (243). Chapter Twelve analyses relations between the executive and the bureaucracy. Ahn argues that while the political neutrality of public officials has "exercised a remarkable influence on the executive administration" (257) and that "public officials in Korea are more severely constrained in their political activities than their counterparts in Western Europe" (267), nevertheless this neutrality has not been observed in reality. He further claims that, as democracy in Korea matures, the country will probably follow a similar path as other democracies with "the emancipation of public officials in Korea from political neutrality" (269). Chapter Thirteen is a similar investigation that focuses on the relationship between the executive and legislative branches. An excellent quantitative analysis establishes that the executive has dominated the legislative branch when it comes to passing bills. He also, in my opinion, correctly argues that, while the 1987 constitution gave the National Assembly new powers in regard to its oversight and control function, the Assembly has been "much aggrieved by problems that threatened to eclipse its positive effects" (284).
The final chapter provides an overview of developments in Korean political economy with an emphasis on the relationship between political society and business. However, while the treatment of the topic is interesting, a proper conclusion that pulled the book's diverse threads together would have been very welcome.In summary, Elites and Political Power in South Korea is a very interesting treatment of a topic that has not been dealt with extensively in English. However, in addition to the absence of a conclusion, the book suffers from very uneven quality in the English prose and a lack of proper editing. This is particularly the case in regard to Romanization and the usage of political science terms. Two examples will suffice: the Independence Army is the Dok Rip Kun (51), and Roh Tae-woo's move in the late '80s to improve relations with communist countries becomes "Rho's nordic politik" (95).
Citation:
Saxer, Carl 2004
Elites and Political Power in South Korea, by Byong-Man Ahn, (2002)
Korean Studies Review 2004, no. 16
Electronic file: http://koreanstudies.com/ks/ksr/ksr04-16.htm