1 Balancing Act: Human Rights and Rapid Industrialization in South Korea Yuri Min GO454 - Professor Hatch First

Draft April 13, 2012 The balance of respect for human rights and the desire to industrialize has been difficult to perfect for those developing (Third World) countries intending on pulling themselves out of poverty and into the First World. The case of South Korean industrialization is a unique one because of its unusual success; however, that success came at the cost of human rights violations. Other developing countries usually are not so fortunate when it comes to having the resources needed to develop an economy, but South Koreas example may be a misguided example because of those human rights violations. For economic growth and industrialization to occur, scholars like Atul Kohli believe that the state must have the power to intervene with the economy and guide it in the direction needed for economic growth. This mostly requires strength and a single-minded will to achieve the goal. In the case of South Korea, this has been achieved from a military dictatorship having control of the state and its faculties. However, scholars such as John Lie believe that development is neither a natural nor a necessary process (Lie, 119).1 This leaves developing countries in a place of decisions: follow the natural process of slow development and wait for the eventual end goal of industrialism or take action and mobilize the nation to achieve the end goal much more quickly. Modernization, democratization, and industrialization all refer to processes and are dynamic, constantly in motion. Modernity, democracy, and industrialism are all endpoints,
1

By this, the author believes development to mean rapid development, as civilizations are expected to develop and evolve at their own paces.

2 however. They are not the same thing, but are simply connected with the process leading to the end goal. (Kihl, 18) Therefore, it is not industrialization that nations desire, but industrialism. Nonetheless, the process itself must also be taken into account. In other words, do the ends justify the means? The fundamental question lies in the idea that development is inherently good. And if it is, then how does it affect democratization? However, the method of reaching that development is usually steeped in gross abuses of human and civil rights. This paper asks if it is feasible to reach industrialization while protecting human rights or if this power play by the state governments is a necessary feature on the path towards development. This paper will focus on the creation and progression of the Korean civil society and examine the transformation of South Korea from an industrializing country to an industrialized one, looking back at Korean history and social movements. I will then attempt to answer the question of if it is feasible to industrialize nationally while protecting human rights. What is Civil Society? Civil society is very difficult to define. It has achieved fame among activist groups because of its buzzword status that is meant to equal democratic freedoms and liberties. According to Carmen Malena and Volkhart Finn Heinrich, the broadest definition of civil society is the space in society where collective citizen action takes place (Malena, Heinrich, 338). Other scholars, such as Neera Chandhoke, define it as ____________. In this paper, civil society will include any public actions taken by a marginalized group in society that is outside of the family, government, or state workings in order to

3 further their ideas of freedom and liberty in a democratic sense. Civil society can include womens groups, religious organizations, workers unions, political parties, academia (intellectuals), and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In a stable and mature democracy, these groups have the ability to participate in the governing of the state with their inputs. They have basic rights and freedoms, which the government is unable to take from them. The balance between state and civil society is very precariousboth sides must complement each other in order for both to have maximum efficiency. However, nationstates are usually more powerful in terms of absolute power in the relationship. That imbalance of power leads to one side, usually the state, having more control of the direction in which the state will go: democratization or industrialization. Participation of Civil Society in Politics A Change to Democracy The actions that civil society groups are able to take in a political system are numerous. However, depending on the political system that holds on to power at the time, civil society groups may be limited in what they may do without endangering themselves. It is usually the case that the goal of civil society groups is a more democratic system of rule. Kihl defines democratization as a process to move authoritarian politics into democratic politics with distinct stages (Kihl, 21). A fully stable democracy promises its citizens: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Freedom to form and join organizations Freedom of expression Right to vote Eligibility for public office Right of political leaders to compete for support and votes Alternative sources of information Free and fair elections Institutions for making government policies depend on votes and other expressions

4 of preferences. (Robert Dahl, The Polyarchy, 3) In the 1970s, various civil society groups joined together in an effort to bring about a revolution. Intellectuals, university students, various Christian labor organizations, as well as workers, banded together in an attempt to raise issues about labor to the forefront of the political discourse: low wages, harsh working conditions, and violations of labor laws. (Namhee Lee, 214). Students Students have made a large impact on the Korean politics throughout history. It was because of student demonstrations that the Rhee government was brought down in 1960 and they also led the uprising at Gwangju in 1980. (Asia Watch, xi). With the enactment of the Campus Stabilization Law on August 5, 1985, the government was allowed to detain dissident students and hold them for up to six months in re-education camps or prosecute them with prison sentences up to seven years under the National Security Law. (Asia Watch xiv)

Martial Law Decree No. 10 Dissolved the National Assembly, banned all political activities and assembly, except for weddings, funerals, ancestral rituals, and religious ceremonies, but prohibited any political statements at such occasions; imposed censorship on the media; closed all colleges and universities; prohibited labor strikes and unexcused absences from work; banned the spread of rumors, the defamation or slander of present or past government officials (including presidents, of course), and advocacy of proposals using the same language as the North Koreans (Asia Watch 35). Intellectuals

5 Laborers South Korean Democracy Movement Whereas industrialization is usually pushed for by the state, democracy can be a movement started from the grassroots of a population or started from above at the government level. In the case of South Korea, it has been both. The South Korean democracy movement began with the Donghak Movement in the 1890s. The Donghak Movement was made up of farmers and peasants who were protesting the feudal government of Korea and its oppression of the lower classes. [Governments response] The pro-democracy movement really took shape during the Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945. In 1919, the March First Movement began to organize. Following Woodrow Wilsons Fourteen Points speech earlier that year, Korean pro-democracy activists [the actions of the Japanese colonial rulers against dissidents] Yet, through the 1920s and 1930s, the Korean colonial state became more complacent, mainly because of the relaxed cultural policy of the Japanese colonial forces. Instead of the harsh assimilation requirements of the 1910s, Korean newspapers were now allowed to print again, __________. Upon achieving autonomy in 1945, South Korean citizens once again demanded more democratic systems. When the country split along the 28th parallel in 1948, [Rhee protests, Park Chung Hee protests, Chun protests] This led up to the Gwangju Massacre of 1980.

6 Chun, handing off power to his follower Roh Tae-woo, sparked another prodemocracy movement, called the June Democracy Movement, which eventually led to the creation of the Sixth Republic which is the current form of government in modern South Korea.

Kim Young-sam, the first civilian president after the back-to-back-to-back military dictators, was the first president to truly allow Korean democracy to flourish. He put power back into the hands of civil society and led anti-corruption campaigns, while also pardoning many pro-democracy protesters who had been imprisoned. South Korean democracy has continued on to today. The presidential election at the end of this year is expected to be highly intriguing as Park Chung Hees daughter, Park Geun Hye, is expected to run for office. Government Actions Against Civil Society If we are to take Robert Dahls requirements for a stable democracy and look at them in light of rights for civil society groups, then it is clear that the South Korean government suppressed its own population. It is clear that the creation of labor unions was suppressed. This seems to be the largest violation of this particular requirement of a stable democracy. However, student groups who were fighting for laborers rights were also suppressed. In terms of freedom of expression, not only were newspapers highly censored during this period with all dissidents becoming targets for arrest and questioning, but demonstrators were also sometimes jailed for their views. This was a way for the government through the KCIA under Park Chung Hee to

7 (1) The creation of labor unions was suppressed, (2) newspapers as well as demonstrators were jailed for their views, (4, 5) some opposition leaders, such as Kim Dae Jung, were banished from the country and even had attempts on their life by government agents, (6) the only sources of alternative information was by NGOs and outside groups, whose information was suppressed by the government, (7) definitely not the case, (8) Yushin Constitution and martial law. After Park Chung Hee declared a state of emergency in Korea in 1972, he frequently cited the priority of the national right to survival was important in order to protect the basic human rights (Hyung-A Kim, 100). The national right to survival that Park spoke of would seem to be the right to comfortable living situations as compared to other countries. A higher standard of living is usually measured by GNP per capita (Kihl, 20). Analysis of Korean Government Response - Justified? Necessary? Was the Korean government justified in suppressing civil society groups for the supposed end goal of industrialization? That depends on the goals that the state saw as the end. If democratization was the end goal, then by no means was taking away basic democratic rights a method of achieving that goal. However, if the goal was firstly to industrialize the country, and then worry about creating a stable democracyif creating a democracy was even a goal of the statethen maybe the state was justified in suppressing those dissenting voices that would have otherwise hindered rapid industrialization. That leaves the moral aspect to human rights violations in Korea. It is possible to argue that the suffering of those oppressed by the government for rapid industrialization was a much better outcome than the prolonged suffering because of lower living standards

8 of a country that was not industrialized. The other equally loaded question is this: is suppressing civil society groups necessary for the end goal of industrialization?