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Liberalism in South Korea

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Through South Korea, Liberalism and Political party

Lab · Class 8–11Democracy Simulator

Historically, liberalism in South Korea emerged as an anti-military dictatorship movement. In contemporary South Korean politics, it represents a movement positioned opposite the conservatives. Liberal political parties include the Democratic Party of Korea and the Justice Party.

The Democratic Party of Korea is a reformist party and internationally considered centrist to center-left. Although it is usually classified as a center-left party within South Korea, some studies consider its social policies more conservative than center-right parties in Western Europe such as Christian Democratic Union of Germany. The Justice Party is to the left of the DPK but takes a more moderate stance than the far-left parties of Western Europe.

South Korean liberals tend to unite around several key issues: a conciliatory approach to North Korea, reparations for Japanese colonial rule, and, wherever possible, autonomy from interference by major powers, including the United States. South Korean liberalism is also based on a national liberalist independence movement against Japan. South Korean liberals support the Sunshine Policy toward North Korea.

Introduction

In South Korea, the term "liberalism" generally refers to classical liberalism. In South Korea, the labels "liberal" (자유주의자; Jayujuuija; chayujuŭija) and "liberal democracy" (자유민주주의; 自由民主主義; Jayuminjujuui) are often claimed by conservatives to denote economic liberalism and anti-communism. Liberals, particularly those with left-leaning views, often use terms like "democrats", "ribuhruhl" (리버럴, the Korean pronunciation of "liberal") or "democratic camp" (민주진영) to set themselves apart from conservatives.

In South Korea, liberals and progressives are political forces with individual traditions, but American liberalism is often translated as progressivism in the Korean language. While the Justice Party officially backs social democracy, its inheritance of the Uri Party's base also places it within South Korea's liberal and progressive party tradition.

In South Korea, the terms "liberal," "liberty," "libertarian," and "freedom" all tend to be translated into Jayu (자유; 自由). For example, in South Korea, both Canada's "Liberal Party", Netherlands' "Party for Freedom" and the United States' "Libertarian Party" are read as Jayudang (자유당; 自由黨) in Korean. Also, right-wing socially conservative media in South Korea regard the American tradition of right-libertarianism as progressive because it is culturally liberal.

The main diplomatic point that defines liberalism in South Korea is "independence" (독립). South Korean liberals have a more nationalistic nature based on anti-imperialism in matters related to international affairs. The anti-China Gaehwa Party / Independence Club at the end of the 19th century, and the anti-Japan Korean independence movement during the Japanese colonial era, formed Korea's early liberalism. On the other hand, Korea's conservative elites cooperated with neighboring powers such as Qing China and Japan for practical reasons. South Korean leftists saw North Korea's Juche policy, grounded in Korean Confucianism, as a more genuinely Korean alternative to a socialist state defined only by that binary, believing it would preserve independence and avoid becoming a subordinate state to great powers. In modern South Korean politics, socialism and anti-Americanism, which were by-products alongside the rise of democratic movements were thoroughly suppressed with force by conservatives with the support of the United States, which made liberals resent domestic interference by foreign powers. Thus, while they maintain cordial relations with the United States, they also seek to exercise strategic autonomy in its foreign policy.

South Korean liberals tends to take a nuanced and pragmatic stance towards China and Russia, preferring cooperation to promote peace on the peninsula. Thus, they tend to be more reluctant to take a strong stance on controversial issues such as the issue of Taiwan and disputes in the South China Sea. On the campaign trail, Lee Jae-myung questioned South Korean relevance in the Taiwan Strait issue. President Moon Jae-in stated that South Korea will not take sides in the US-China rivalry.

South Korean liberals have represented Korean victims of Japanese war crimes since the 1990s. They oppose any agreement or cooperation with Japan until the Japanese government issues formal apologies to Korean victims and demonstrate sincere reflections on the horrors of the Japanese occupation of Korea. President Moon Jae-in stated the human rights of victims are more important than relations between countries.

Major South Korean liberals criticize mainstream conservatives, reject ties to the military dictatorship, demand political reform and the rule of law, and support North‑Korea reconciliation under the Sunshine Policy. Domestically, they advocated the reform of the monopoly of the large industrial conglomerates known as chaebols. They also proposed the curtailing of investigative powers of the prosecutor's office, with such powers transferred to the police, as they viewed them as powerful political tools.

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