Democracy progresses

Korea can change and advance beyond crisis

By Bernard Rowan

I’d like to continue along the lines of my last column, which gave measured praise to South Korea and her people for the handling of President Yoon Suk Yeol's debacle in declaring martial law. While the action and its aftermath continue to churn and to move the country forward to a new day, South Korea has met the principal rule of a democracy, a constitutional democracy. The “rule of law” as it was extolled has prevailed. The prime minister isn’t having a good time at all, but the national government continues to operate under the Constitution. What becomes of Yoon awaits further action, primarily by the Constitutional Court. I don’t know that impeaching the prime minister helps matters, and I don’t envy acting President Choi’s task.

One aspect of the public reaction is the role of women. Various reports indicate women are among the leading voices of peaceful and persistent protest for justice and for the needs of the Korean people. The Light Stick Revolution is a face of progress in women’s equality and of the progressive potential of democracy worldwide. Korean democracy and her future await the growth in power and leadership of Korean women. Not at all incompatible with democracy, it is long past time, still resisted in some quarters, but taking root. And the protests in Seoul and throughout the nation reveal its potential.

Of course, South Korea already has taken the important step of electing a woman to serve as her president. And when former President Park acted in violation of the law, she was punished, unceremoniously. She served time before being released, again showing that political power in a constitutional democracy is answerable to the law and to the people as sovereign.

Alas, once again, the United States and its people face trouble. I hesitate to say it, but it’s fitting. We nearly faced a federal government shutdown due to poor leadership. The Speaker of the House of Representatives is second in line to be president after the vice president of the United States. He leads the most representative chamber of American government, the House of Representatives. Mike Johnson has a lot of responsibility to support the rule of law. I suppose he, and most Americans, are breathing a sigh of relief that a bill was passed to fund the continued operation of the US government, just at Christmas.

The sorrow isn’t about that last-minute, responsible, face-saving act. No, it’s that after months of negotiations and a prior bipartisan agreement, Johnson felt it necessary to seek approval from Donald Trump — who isn’t even part of the American government at the moment — to move the bill forward. It’s absurd, even more so but less publicized than Elon Musk’s pretensions, that the leader of the House would ask someone outside the government for permission, like a child asking, “Father, may I?”

What would be the reason? Self-preservation in his office is the most likely answer. Certainly, one doesn’t envy Speaker Johnson’s task, standing over a motley crew of MAGA Republicans and others, with nothing like a landslide majority, facing to mid-January. Many of his own caucus hold his lead in their hands, a point not to be lost. Did they order him to consult with President Trump? Regardless, the greatest democracy the world has known forgot its government yet again and allowed a man who hasn’t yet become the government to veto a democratic action. And our leaders make their political survival the point of their actions, not the public interest.

This follows a second consecutive failure to elect a woman president, with America choosing instead to elect an impeached former president guilty of civil and criminal acts. While many women serve in Congress and the government, too many have, in my view, aligned themselves with questionable agendas. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi was one of the key figures behind Biden's decision to step back as the Democratic presidential nominee. The constant hedging of bets over “who’s gonna win” hasn’t been beneficial for America’s democracy either.

Both of our nations need to continue their democratic processes to sew up the loops and learn from feedback. Autocratic nations are marching, even with the downfall of Syria. The election of Trump and his feigned fantasies about Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada are only the farcical version of serious autocratic works in process by the leaders of China, North Korea, Russia, Iran and others. Both of our nations now have and will have government coalitions with weak mandates. The partisanship and polarization of our peoples are significant. The need for prudence and caution is suggested by the logic of power, not the continued ramping up of divisions. Easier to say than to accomplish. However, the use of democratic and peaceful mechanisms, both in the U.S. and South Korea, should remain the fundament of change and progress.

Bernard Rowan is associate provost for contract administration and academic services at Chicago State University, and a professor of political science. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and a past visiting professor at Hanyang University.