Korean Democracy Storytelling Civil Society Roundtable Held: Discussing ‘K-Democracy’ (feat. Citizens)

YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lirLx97MKiQ

The East Asia Institute (EAI), as part of the South Korea Democracy Storytelling project funded by the National Democratic Institute (NDI), held the civil society roundtable ‘Discussing K-Democracy’ (feat. Citizens) on Thursday, September 24, 2020. The roundtable was organized with the aim of reflecting on Korean democracy from the perspective of civil society and exploring future directions for a new citizen democracy. It consisted of ‘Session 1: Proposing New Citizens, Civil Society, and Civic Movements’ and ‘Session 2: Discussing Citizen Participation Where Citizens Take the Lead.’

Lee Sook-jong, EAI Senior Fellow and Professor at Sungkyunkwan University, served as the moderator for this event. Scholars, members of the National Assembly, representatives of civic groups, and journalists who have been actively researching and participating in civil society and civic movements provided presentations and participated in discussions, creating a forum for sharing diverse thoughts and engaging in dialogue on Korean civil society and citizen democracy.

Session 1: Proposing New Citizens, Civil Society, and Civic Movements

Presenters Im Hyun-jin, Professor Emeritus at Seoul National University

          Lee Tae-gyu, Member of the National Assembly (People's Party)

Discussants Kang Guk-jin, Reporter at Seoul Shinmun Policy News Department 

          Kim Se-yeon, Former Member of the National Assembly (People Power Party)

          Yoon Seok-man, Editorial Writer at The JoongAng Ilbo

Session 2: Discussing Citizen Participation Where Citizens Take the Lead

Presenters Park Tae-soon, President of Korea Public Forum

          Lee Hyung-yong, Chairman of the Governance Center

Discussants Kim Jeong, Professor at the University of North Korean Studies 

          Park Hong-soon, Former President of the Open Society Civic Association 

          Hong Chan-sook, Visiting Researcher at the Seoul National University Women's Studies Institute 

          Hwangbo Seung-hee, Member of the National Assembly (People Power Party)

* Presenters and discussants listed in Korean alphabetical order

Contact Person

Lee Eun-ji, Researcher at the East Asia Institute (EAI)

Session 1. Presentation 1

Session 1. Presentation 2

Session 1. Discussion

Session 2. Presentation 1

Session 2. Presentation 2

Session 2. Discussion

Video Transcript

It's a story. Uh, there are four or five people, uh, but America and Engine 3, 4, two people are Sakya. When will it be the case that Lee came with us? Yes. Thank you. It seems like it came out once. Ah, no, it's not necessary. There was no incident. Uh, it was a good incident, and uh, it was resolved. Mar. What is it? Yes. It was considered. I couldn't do it. Now, excluding Mr. No, it's not a problem. Everyone knows. So, it's completely different. But it's our way of doing things. Uh, the hospital, especially now, it's the work of President Park Jong-han. I made this in 12 units. I couldn't even meet them with that much, but the people who met them were very active in their movements. There is no one of my age who has debuted.

There are people like that, and in my research, there are people who have a lot to say. These are people with wide faces. So, today, these people are diverse. In the past, if you look at it, after the video, there are experts in various fields. What everyone says seems to be right. There are quite a few. So, the world's MG is 51,500. But 1200 of them are actually for personal purposes, study, and political progress. There are relationships that actually move. In Korea, they are also scattered in this form. It's easy to be like a civic movement or a people's movement. Especially, if you eat meat, you pay 30% of the registration fee. This is what we are now forming an development committee under the supervision of. I mentioned the period of President Lee Myung-bak. Even if I said something like this, I would be criticized. I will give birth to children. Won't you give them notice well? But there is no such thing.

In that place, it comes out as it is, so it becomes a group. So, what activities are these organizations doing? The organizations that are properly alive, even if there are 100,000 people, in our case, there are actually active ones, so we have incorporated them as registered corporations or foundations. This is within civil society. From human rights to that, we actually have... It's been a while since we've been here. However, it has increased significantly every year.

It hasn't been resolved, but it can't be stored easily. So, it comes by mail two months later. So, especially in the case of the conflict in the response, the actual state of the relationship is not very well addressed, and it is too short. The number is adjusted, and the daily market price is adjusted and lines are drawn. There are three types of important speeches. It seems that it will be completed.

It seems to be good. I'll ask a difficult question. But before that, I briefly mentioned it. It's blocked here. It's too much, depending on the regime. According to the mission, it's too close to each other. If you distance yourself, then you have the ability to use the people. The public officials, in this case, are they very vigilant? As we can see from our teachers, there are about 2 people who are weak. After watching, we sent them all. It is a different indicator.

Yes, it's too confrontational. I looked into it. It's not just two people. It's important that they are powerful and important. In their normal lives, they... So, we need to overcome these things. The president can't do this role. For the sake of these organizations, I will say this. Here, it's here. Oh, I see. Yes, well, uh, di, I am a teacher I learned from. Oh, yes, togo, it has been greatly improved.

This is very different from the past revolutionary methods. You are answering us. So, in our country, for about a year, or uh, the spokesperson for the Internet is officially... Yes. Anyway, the citizens don't know. The citizens are alive, but the civic organizations are weak. They are entering the realm of civic movements. They are finding difficulties and coming to us. Then, they have professionalism. Professors and the like are beautifully spread. So, uh, now this tank is... It's going into a lot of places.

We examined the name of the government at that time, but it's not a practice. It's difficult to go out. Uh, the point is that in the end, the citizens... So, it must have been dsm. Still, people who have been entrusted with the entire year themselves are almost not on the list. We are doing well, and there are middle-aged women who are trying to protect their vested interests, and the activists are not genuine.

They came with a sense of mission, but... So, volunteer work is well done. And, as I mentioned earlier, organizations should cooperate. The most important thing is that it hasn't been done, so it's not going in. It's doing well. So, currently, the number of people involved in human relationships is decreasing, and although there is content, they are not doing things together. Citizens cannot do this due to time or other reasons. Therefore, it seems that new experts are emerging who appeal to their rights and represent them by outsourcing these functions.

So, the future is... Looking at this, uh, there are several old... Yes. Uh, the telephone is working. So, it's being modified to some extent. What is it? Uh, with capital and distance. The rest are not bad in terms of social contribution, but it came out by overturning the fact that it was in the civil society organization. Yes. In Korea, of course, the situation of the civic movement is... It's not like we can say it's not happening, but we are doing it through intermediate activities. These people are finally in this area. The civil society is entering a dual invasion from the government and the opportunity.

Therefore, the public sector must also lead the way. Therefore, politics is not excluded. Power is transferred to the economy, and the political arena is opened. These diverse political structures are recognized as free operations of the military. They are dragged to the court and imprisoned. Therefore, when civil society merges with the government or the state's governance, it can coexist with civil society. For example, the Kim Young-sam administration, the Kim administration, and the Roh Moo-hyun administration, and the excessive political engagement of civic group leaders is a conclusion.

The three principles of non-interference were first received. This means that under the recent civilian government, civil society and citizens have excessively engaged in politics, and in the name of reform, they are causing chaos in civil society. This is not the case. It is now being re-established through pragmatic policy advice. Uh, the civilian government of Kim Young-sam, the previous government, the government of Roh Moo-hyun... It's been a while, but I'm very passionate about this. Among them, it's about 300%... In 2000, it presents the principle of political neutrality.

This is what the representatives and secretaries-general do within the government. Uh, this is a precious opportunity. At that time, how... So, uh, I was quite cautious. Uh, I finished the group's participation in the Kim Young-sam administration's reform. Uh, through the Korean civic movement, I participated in it. It was very good to go up to the stage. Uh, now I'm reviewing it. When I review it, it's like criticizing the capital for a moment.

And recently, married people, and from before, there are... it's not. Thorough verification. So, I cherish it. I also have to develop it. I also work in political participation. Politics is only read within the field. There are three people. I am 3. Uh, how about opposing it? I started a company. Sovereign incident. So, I have capital. So, it's important for large corporations. Uh, I had to think, 'I have to stop this,' so I studied sovereignty.

It's set up, but I feel like it's not working well. I have to use both methods. So, I checked the characteristics. Uh, it caused a stir. So, time is passing. Uh, here I mentioned it. The direction of the civic movement is here. They no longer need to think of themselves as leaders who lead citizens. They should humbly listen and communicate democratically, and help them. This is the role of the field. They think they are the protagonists. Uh, I'm saying this. So, I compared it. If you compare it, it's like a kind game.

Therefore, uh, the knowledge government is connected to... The Honorable Representative has a strong plan. Uh, it's like this. It's based on the law. It's the next step. Uh, this is the past. Uh, it's not just about the cost, but also about the strategy for the citizen's future. We need to establish a strategy. Secondly, uh, for a long time, it has been biased... it has been biased. It's not about reading the vision or the medium-term goals, but about studying and... Compared to humans, as I mentioned earlier, it lacks competitiveness in developing new policies.

So, this is like a public servant in the 12th position. So, we need to set the criteria and follow them. But we are almost... We just believe it as it is. Uh, so, if I say something, I mean that the politics of health will not be good now. It's morning. It's not a problem. It's almost the fifth problem. Uh, it's very important, but uh, this problem needs to be addressed in depth. Thanks to the online broadcast, I've been doing a lot of other things like this.

So, it's together. I think it's good to talk about it. Or it seems to be delicious. er