Conditions for Successful Political Reform

To overcome the reality of Korean politics, which lacks policy competition, electoral, party, and parliamentary institutional reforms must succeed. The EAI Political Reform Research Team comprehensively analyzed theoretical and empirical discussions on political reform to consolidate them into a coherent alternative. Testimonies and advice from current and former members of the National Assembly and government officials who attended the weekly seminars, along with discussions with them, played a crucial role in incorporating empirical discussions arising from real-world politics into theoretical approaches to political reform. The EAI research team proposed the conditions for successful political reform in Korea under the theme of "new policy forces."

Table of Contents

[Foreword] Political Reform: From Power Struggle to Policy Competition | Jang Hoon

Chapter 1 From Power Struggle to National Management: Political Actors Must Be Transformed into "New Policy Forces" | Park Se-il

1. What is the Problem?

2. Why Did It Become This Way?

3. What Should Be Done?

4. What Are "New Policy Forces"?

5. What Are the National Tasks?

6. What is the Direction of Political Institutional Reform?

Chapter 2 Electoral System Reform to Foster New Policy Forces | Lee Nae-young

1. Introduction: The Importance of Electoral System Reform for the National Assembly

2. Problems of the Current Electoral System and the Goals of Electoral System Reform in Korea

3. Review of Alternatives for Electoral System Reform

4. Specific Institutional Design for the Effective Operation of the Chosen Reform Plan (Small Constituency + National Proportional Representation)

5. Democratization and Institutionalization of the Candidate Nomination Process

6. Conclusion

Chapter 3 Reform of the Electoral Process | Park Chul-hee

1. General Remarks

2. Foreign Cases

3. Problems of the Current Election Law

4. Direction of Election Law Revision and Three Principles

5. Specific Content of the Electoral Process Reform Plan

6. Comparison of the Current Election Law, the National Election Commission's Revision Opinion, and the Recommended Revision

Chapter 4 Party Structure Reform Measures | Kim Yong-ho

1. Introduction

2. Evaluation of Party Politics After Democratization

3. Main Goals and Principles of Party Reform

4. Basic Direction of Individual Party Reform

5. Measures for Establishing a Desirable Party System

6. Conclusion

Chapter 5 Principles and Alternatives for Political Finance Reform: Participation, Policy Capacity, Autonomy, and Responsibility | Lim Sung-hak

1. Introduction

2. Direction of Political Reform and Political Finance Reform

3. Discussion on Political Finance Reform and Our Choice

4. Conclusion

Chapter 6 Political Reform and Civic Education | Kim Yong-min

1. Introduction: The Need for a Paradigm Shift in Education

2. The Role of Democracy and Political Education

3. Liberal Education and Communitarian Education

4. Proposals for Establishing the Desirable Status of Political Education Actors

5. Conclusion

Chapter 7 Korea's Democratic Choice: Guarding Against Idealism | Seo Byung-hoon

1. Introduction

2. Korean Democracy and Populism

3. Theoretical Debates Surrounding Democracy

4. The Direction of Korean Democracy

5. Conclusion

Author

Kim Yong-min

Graduated from Seoul National University, Department of Political Science; Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago.

Currently a professor in the Department of Political Diplomacy at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and Director of the Institute of Social Sciences at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

Books: "Modern Political Science" (co-authored), "East Asian Political Change: Research Issues and Strategies" (co-authored), "Social Transformation and Philosophy" (co-authored), "Conservatism in Korea" (co-authored)

Kim Yong-ho

Graduated from Seoul National University, Department of Political Science; Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania, USA. Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Hallym University; Professor, Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security; Inchon Fellow, University of Oxford, UK.

Currently Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Inha University; Advisory Member, Ministry of Unification; Research Director, Korean Political Science Association.

Books: "Understanding Korean Party Politics", "Introduction to Comparative Political Science" (co-authored), "Introduction to Democracy Theory" (translated), "Analysis of North Korea's Foreign Negotiation Behavior"

Park Se-il

Graduated from Seoul National University, Department of Law; Ph.D. in Economics from Cornell University, USA; Research Fellow, Korea Development Institute; Professor, Seoul National University College of Law; Senior Secretary for Policy Planning, Presidential Secretariat; Senior Secretary for Social Welfare; Visiting Fellow, Brookings Institution.

Currently Professor, Graduate School of International Studies, Seoul National University.

Books: "Law and Economics", "Managing Education Reform", "Reforming Labor Management Relations", "The Theory of Moral Sentiments" (translated), "Conditions for Presidential Success" (edited)

Park Chul-hee

Graduated from Seoul National University, Department of Political Science; Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University, USA. Visiting Researcher, Japan Institute of International Affairs; Assistant Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan.

Currently Assistant Professor, Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security.

Books: "How Japanese Diet Members Are Made", "A Study on Political Realignment", "Japan's National Strategy in the 21st Century" (translated), "Japan's Shifting Party Politics" (translated)

Seo Byung-hoon

Graduated from Yonsei University, Department of Political Science and International Relations; Ph.D. in Political Science from Rice University, USA.

Currently Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Soongsil University.

Books: "The Aesthetics of Freedom: Plato and John Stuart Mill", "The Nature and Utopia of Freedom: The Political Philosophy of John Stuart Mill"

Lee Nae-young

Graduated from Korea University, Department of Political Science and International Relations; Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. Research Fellow, Sejong Institute; Professor, Graduate School of International Studies, Kyung Hee University.

Currently Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Korea University; Director, EAI Center for Political and Social Surveys.

Books: "Dilemmas and Choices of the Roh Moo-hyun Administration" (co-edited), "Roh Moo-hyun's 2002 Presidential Election and the Tasks of the Roh Moo-hyun Administration" (co-

authored), "World Order and the Korean Peninsula in Transition" (co-edited). "Legacy Issues and Democratic Consolidation", "A Comparative Study of Regionalism in East Asia and the Americas", "Generations and Political Ideology", and others.

Lim Seong-hak

Graduated from Yonsei University, Department of Political Science and International Relations; Ph.D. in Political Science from Pennsylvania State University, USA. Research Professor, Yonsei University Leadership Center. Currently Researcher, Institute of International Studies, Chung-Ang University. Papers: "Fundraising and Expenditure of Election Funds for the 16th National Assembly Election: Analysis of Interview Data", "Fundraising and Expenditure of Political Funds for the Korean Presidential Election: Characteristics of the 16th Presidential Election."

Jang Hoon

Graduated from Seoul National University, Department of Political Science; Ph.D. in Political Science from Northwestern University, USA. Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Hallym University; Director, Korean Association of International Politics. Currently Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Chung-Ang University.

Papers: “The 1997 Presidential Election in South Korea", "Origins of the Instability of the Korean Presidential System", "Party Politics in the Decade of Democratization"

For the convenience of our readers, parts of the manuscript of this book are being made public.