Limitations of the so-called '87 regime' in South Korea

Abstract

The so-called ‘87 Regime’ in South Korea refers to the historical period and regime of democratic transition and consolidation, combined with the change of the constitution in 1987 after the Korean people’s June Democracy Movement against the new military regime. The ‘87 regime,’ however, has shown three weaknesses so far: the absence of progressive socio-economic alternatives; limitations of the democracy paradigm itself; and the lasting negative effects of the ‘national-division system’. The overcoming of these weaknesses will lead to a new historical and democratic progress in South Korea.