Myunghee Lee

Heading to #APSA2025! Some exciting things on deck for tomorrow: on the Determinants of Public Opinion on Foreign Policy 2 panel (12 pm), @immyungheelee.bsky.social, Alex Jensen, and I discuss our survey experiment of public opinion towards the US military in South Korea and the Philippines 1/6

Communist and Post-Communist Studies | University of California Press

I'm pleased to share that I’ve joined the editorial team of Communist and Post-Communist Studies as an Associate Editor. I look forward to working with this excellent team.
Encourage you to consider submitting your manuscript if your research fits the journal's aim.

online.ucpress.edu/cpcs

Martial Law and Its Aftermath: The Authoritarian Shadows Still Haunting South Korean Democracy - Australian Institute of International Affairs South Korean politics has never been more dynamic than it is this year since democratisation. In early January, the world watched two unprecedented and chaotic standoffs between Yoon Suk Yeol’s [...]

Invited to write this based on my research on the authoritarian-led party system and the far-right movement in SK. If you are interested in understanding how authoritarian shadows have deeply haunted the country, this could be a good short read.

www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianou...

I hope @christiehenry.bsky.social understands that for many in Xinjiang, the “peace” she saw is what scholars have elsewhere termed “the peace of the prison-yard.”
(Plenty of good scholars at Princeton who could’ve helped them avoid this. Just embarrassing.)

Had some insightful conversations about democracy with scholars from around the world at an event sponsored by @carnegieendowment.org in Lisbon, Portugal. I shared my perspectives on South Korean democracy since 1987.

Exactly!

Seeds of Mobilization South Korea is sometimes held as a dream case of modernization theory, a testament to how economic development leads to democracy. Seeds of Mobilization takes a closer look at the history of South Kor...

and read her book.

press.umich.edu/Books/S/Seed...

Seeds of Mobilization: The Authoritarian Roots of South Korea's Democracy by Joan E. Cho, Ann Arbor, MI, University of Michigan Press, 2024, xxi + 253 pp. Click on the article title to read more.

Joan Cho's book Seed of Mobilization offers valuable insights into Korean democracy. Read my review.

doi.org/10.1111/deve...

Love this. I also need an escape.

A) The installation of a democratically elected government opens the way for a "second transition," often longer and more complex than the initial transition from authoritarian rule. B) This second transition is supposed to be from a democratically elected government to an institutionalized, consolidated democratic regime. C) Nothing guarantees, however, that this second transition will occur. New democracies may regress to authoritarian rule, or they may stall in a feeble, uncertain situation. This situation may endure without opening avenues for institutionalized forms of democracy. D) The crucial element determining the success of the second transition is the building of a set of institutions that become important decisional points in the flow of political power. E) For such a successful outcome to occur, governmental policies and the political strategies of various agents must embody the recognition of a paramount shared interest in democratic institution building. The successful cases have featured a decisive coalition of broadly supported political leaders who take great care in creating and strengthening democratic political institutions. These institutions, in turn, have made it easier to cope with the social and economic problems inherited from the authoritarian regime. This was the case in Spain, Portugal (although not immediately after democratic installation), Uruguay, and Chile. F) In contrast, the cases of delegative democracy mentioned earlier have achieved neither institutional progress nor much governmental effectiveness in dealing with their respective social and economic crises.

Not now, Guillermo O'Donnell. (Teaching intro to comparative politics to undergrads in spring 2025 is a WILD experience.)

@immyungheelee.bsky.social is an expert on #authoritarianism, #democratization, and #protest in East Asia. Listen to her on this week's episode of Disrupting Peace discuss discuss how a #politicalopposition can successfully overturn a president’s power grab by looking at South Korea.

South Korea: Successfully Opposing Presidential Overreach Podcast Episode · Disrupting Peace · 03/18/2025 · 26m

Episode 2 of Disrupting Peace focuses on South Korea in the wake of the attempted martial law declaration on December 3 by President Yoon Suk Yeol. Our guests are Myunghee Lee (@immyungheelee.bsky.social) and Jiho Cha.

Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen: shorturl.at/w0DUp

"How Criminal Organizations Expand to Strong States: Local Agreements and Migrant Exploitation in Northern Italy" by Gemma Dipoppa. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

Happy to see this journal on Bluesky!

Readout of Blinken's meeting with acting South Korean President Choi Sang-mok. No mention of South Korea's political chaos.

Meanwhile, the ruling PPP keeps arguing that the arrest is illegal (it's a court order, so def legal/legitimate)🤦. Treating them as 'another voice' is dangerous. Bothsidesism nips at the heels of democracy.

Protectors of liberal democracy or defenders of past authoritarianism?: authoritarian legacies, collective identity, and the far-right protest in South Korea Between 2016 and 2019, South Korean conservatives organized a movement called the T’aegŭkki Rallies to oppose the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye and to protest against President Moon Jae-in...

I have to add that Yoon does this while instigating unrest by dog-whistling far-right wing activists--YouTubers, evangelical churches, and the notorious 'Taguekgi' troops. My colleague @immyungheelee.bsky.social wrote about who these people are: www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Yes. This is the point that international media needs to get their head around: democrats need to drive home Han and the PPP's responsibility, even after the failed coup attempt, to deepen instability in service to their own selfish interests, and the whims of disgraced Yoon.

Great perspective on the current situation in Korea, with the 2nd impeachment in 2 weeks.

In conclusion, Han's refusal to appoint the three nominees could cause significant instability in the country by delaying the Constitutional Court's judgment process on Yoon's impeachment case. fin/

The PPP's refusal to participate in these processes is unjustifiable and can only be interpreted as a deliberate attempt to obstruct Yoon's impeachment—a straightforward case in which the president declared martial law and disrupted the constitutional order. 5/n

여야, 22일까지 국회 몫 헌법재판관 추천키로 헌법재판관 추천을 두고 이어진 여야의 힘겨루기 끝에 18일 여야가 현재 공석인 국회 몫의 3명을 22일까지 추천하기로 합의했다. 더불어민주당 박찬대 원내대표는 이날 서울 여의도 국회에서 우원식 국회의장 주재 양당 원내대표 회동을 마친 뒤 “국회 추천 몫 헌법재판관 3인을 2...

Second, at least two out of the three nominees, whose hearing and voting process the ruling party (PPP) refused to participate in, were prearranged through a consensus between the opposition and the ruling party before December 3. 4/n

www.segye.com/newsView/202...

헌재도, 후보자도, 학계도 모두 "문제 없어" 앞서 보셨듯이 국민의힘은 헌법재판관 임명을 대통령 권한대행이 하는 건 문제라고 주장하고 있습니다. 하지만 헌법학계에선 권한대행이 국회가 선출한 헌법재판관을 임명하는 데...

This is wrong for two reasons. First, the 3 justices appointed to the Constitutional Court are for the seats allocated to the legislature. Han's role in their appointment is a formality. (other 3 seats are assigned to the Supreme Court, and 3 to the president.) 3/n

imnews.imbc.com/replay/2024/...

Han refused to appoint three Constitutional Court justices, despite the risk of disrupting the formalization process of Yoon's impeachment. He claims that a bipartisan consensus is necessary for appointing the justices.2/n

The Prime Minister and acting President of South Korea, Han, was impeached. The media claims that this further destabilizes Korea—a notion I disagree with. I would like to clarify several issues regarding this matter. 1/n

Han’s refusal cannot be justified.

No, the three justices to be appointed are for the three seats assigned to the legislature. The acting president’s or president’s final appointment is merely a formality.

The main point here is the PPP’s deliberate attempt to obstruct Yoon’s impeachment process by refusing to participate in the Constitutional Court judge nominees’ hearing. The three nominees had been prearranged through a compromise between the PPP and the opposition prior to December 3.

But all this really shows is how the Taegukgi forces are detrimental and dangerous to Korea.