The Prism of Yushin

The Yushin System was the constitution of South Korea from 1972 to 1979; technically the system remained until the early 1980s, but really it was merely a constitutional codification of a personal and oligopolistic dictatorship in South Korea. Park Chung-hee was president of South Korea from 1961 to 1979; he overthrew the democratic but sclerotic 2nd Republic in 1961 in a military coup d'état. After 5 years in charge of the country he converted his rule from a Junta to a nominally civilian government, where the military swapped fatigues for suits but to a large extent the political structure remained highly authoritarian and the state highly militarised. Yet there was competitive elections, which were not rigged, Park won the presidential election in 1967 by the skin of his teeth. The other candidate Yun Bo-seon did not inspire the popular imagination, but nor did rule by military barons. However Park won because he had control of the media and dominance over the organs of civil society; when this is combined with a growing record of success in economic development and a highly appealing strident anti-communism, one has all the ingredients of a highly manipulated but procedurally free election.

However, whilst Park won in 1967, it was unlikely that he could do so again in 1972. Transparent rule by force the 3rd Republic may not have been. But its harsh labour conditions, its courtship of Japanese business (Japan was considered the enemy, as a result of Korea's 35 years of colonisation), and most importantly the yawning gap between elite and commoner created an untenable situation for Park as a democrat. Therefore he changed the system, the presidency would now be elected by an electoral college appointed by the president himself. There were no term limits, this represented effectively Life-presidency for Park, legally codified in a new constitution. Yushin means rebirth; it comes from the same Chinese characters as Restoration (of the Meiji Restoration).

This constitutional arrangement is associated by the modern day South Korean left with the worst excesses of the South Korean dictatorial years. It is associated with horrendous working conditions for young adults in textile factories, it is associated with violent street fights between unarmed workers and a corrupt, essentially bourgeois state. And it is associated with a revolutionary wave for democracy that finally motivated Kim jae-gyu (the director of the KCIA in 1979) to assassinate President Park who was about to repress a massive street protest.

It is through this prism that modern day South Korean leftists approach North Korea as a political entity and the coming reunification of the Koreas. They rightly predict that North Korea will be absorbed by the South Korean capitalist economy. It will become an internal colony of South Korea, economically and politically. North Korean politics will be dominated by South Korean technocratic and political elites for a generation to come and they will probably apply a very similar developmental model to the North as did President Park to the South. The North will probably become a sweatshop for world capital but especially medium sized South Korean business. The catch-up will be long and drawn out, it might take 30 years for the North Korean economy to achieve parity even with heavy infrastructural investment by the South Korean tax payer, and developmental aid, FDI etc.

This developmental model is the symbol of what is wrong with Korea's path to modernity for leftists. But not only that, it is the economic offspring and child of the Yushin system. Hence following the economic model is repeating the terrible Yushin system. So therefore to South Korean leftists, the status quo is better than the alternative. It is better to have Son'gun, the Red Flag ideology, a 'Strong and Prosperous Nation'; in short it is better to keep one of the most brutal dictatorships in world history in power than risk what was merely 7 years of South Korean history, being to some extent repeated in the North. Forgive an ends and means argument, but this is deeply disturbing. What is more so is that there are many on the Left who think like this, too blinkered by their own personal experiences to accept the fact that Park Chung-hee whilst no saint was infinitely better than Kim Il Sung and his even more cynical, tyrannical heir. Ultimately without reunification there is no hope for the North Korean people to be lifted out of the endless fight for survival that characterises a subsistence-level existence. North Korea and its people have been bankrupt since the nation was founded. The nation itself has been reliant on aid from the Socialist bloc and since its collapse China and South Korea. Concomitantly if the regime did not traffic weapons to rogue regimes and run a vast criminal empire then it could not survive. To see this system as somehow better than Yushin is unbelievably myopic, coming from people who live 80 miles away from it. It is best if the regime collapses now and is replaced by a developmental state; there will be massive problems, and if the South Korean state is not responsible enough, North Koreans will have to endure additional, and unnecessary hardships. But even if this is the case to destroy Yodok is better than not. Yodok is worse than Chon Tae-il.