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National Security Council of the Republic of Korea National Security Council of the Republic of Korea BACKGROUND GUIDE CHAIR: Jackie Osaki LETTER FROM THE CHAIR Dear Delegates, Welcome to PacMUN! My fellow staffers and I are so excited to work with you all in committee to foster debate that may solve the relevant issues facing our committees. My name is Jackie Osaki and I am happy to be your chair for the Republic of Korea, or South Korea as it is most commonly known. A bit about myself, I am a junior at Stanford University double majoring in biology and comparative literature. I was first introduced to MUN in college, and have been an active member on Stanford’s MUN team ever since. This coming school year, I will serve as captain of Stanford’s MUN team. I am so excited to be a part of bringing this joint crisis world at PacMUN to life this year, and I look forward to working with all of you! What first drew me to MUN was the open forum of debate, where I could seriously engage with my peers to address international issues. I am most looking forward to fostering that same engagement in committee. It is of course essential to do research on a committee’s topic beforehand, but the purpose of MUN is to use that knowledge to enact meaningful change. Now more than ever, issues surrounding the South China Sea and North Korea need to be solved. I cannot wait to see what serious and creative solutions you all reach in committee, as well as all the interesting things that happen in crisis. As staffers, we will be working hard to integrate crisis and the work delegates do there into the committee, making it along with in committee directives relevant parts of the JCC universe. Finally, I am happy to be a part of shaping South Korea over the course of PacMUN. Politics on the Korean Peninsula are very complex and involve many different international players. I was drawn to this nation due to the relevancy of the problems it is facing. It is fun and important to reenact historical situations, but researching and understanding a current issue is not only meaningful in committee but outside of the simulation as well. I would also like to note, while this background guide is meant to be a resource for delegates, it is not the only resource available to delegates. I would recommend further online research that is relevant either to the committee as a whole or to specific positions. If there are any questions about the committee or conference, feel free to contact me at [email protected]. Sincerely, Jackie Osaki Overview of South Korea In 1945, at the end of the Second World War, the Korean Peninsula was removed from Japanese occupation, and the United Nations (UN) divided it along the 38th parallel, with the Soviet Union in control of the north and the United States in the south. Their respective influences in the north and south of Korea set the foundations for the stark differences between both nations observed today. After its first democratic election, the UN recognized The Republic of Korea (ROK), South Korea, as the only legitimate government on the Korean Peninsula. The nation has gone through many governments, both democratic and autocratic, and is currently under what historians call the Sixth Republic, which has “gradually stabilized into a liberal democracy” after the fall of the former military dictatorship in the late 1980s. Since then, South Korea has moved towards increasing democratization dealing with various domestic and international issues.1 Domestically, South Korea faces a plethora of political issues in the aftermath of impeaching their former president from office in March 2017. Park Geun-hye was a leader for the conservative establishment and a strong advocate for “pressing a hard line against North Korea’s nuclear provocations.” After impeachment, she faces prosecution for “bribery, extortion and abuse of power in connection with allegations of conspiring with a confidante… to collect tens of millions of dollars in bribes for conspiring with companies like Samsung.”2 In the wake of her removal, the liberal Democratic Party front runner, Moon Jae-in, was elected president. He has been wildly successful dealing with domestic politics, presenting strong leadership and maintaining a 73-84% approval rating, the highest rating for a president in the nation’s history. Moon’s biggest issue is creating a plan to deal with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), North Korea, as he has been sluggish in any coherent responses to northern aggression.3 Despite recent success with domestic issues, there are still long-term questions, especially in regard to the economy. Internationally, South Korea is most immediately concerned with its relationship with the North. Under the Kim Dae-jung administration, the ‘Sunshine Policy’ was adopted to foster positive relations with the North, encouraging voluntary denuclearization. While South Korea’s recent policies have been more conservative, elements of the Sunshine Policy are still in place.4 Despite any efforts to reach reconciliation, North Korea still maintains nuclear ambitions. Aside from North Korea, South Korea’s most important foreign relationships are with China, the United States, Japan, and Russia, due to geography and economic influence.5 1 “History of South Korea,” New World Encyclopedia, 26 February 2014, http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/History_of_South_Korea 2 Chloe Sang-Hun, “South Korea Removes President Park Guen-hye,” New York Times, 9 March 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/09/world/asia/park-geun-hye-impeached-south-korea.html 3 John Delury, “Backseat Driver: Moon Jae-in’s Struggle to Revive Intern-Korean Relations,” 38 North, 29 August 2017, http://www.38north.org/2017/08/jdelury082917/ 4 Jesse Min, “The Sunshine Policy of South Korea,” 13 March 2017, http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2017/ph241/min2/ 5 http://dfat.gov.au/geo/republic-of-korea/pages/republic-of-korea-south-korea-country-brief.aspx Understanding the domestic and international situation of South Korea is important to resolve relevant issues and maintain a stable and prosperous nation. National ROK Government Structure The constitution of the Republic of Korea “calls for a liberal democratic political system” where all power is vested in the citizens through voting rights. Every five years a new President is democratically elected and allowed to serve for only one term. The President serves as the head of state, chief executive of government (enforcing all laws passed by the legislature), and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces (with authority over military policies and the ability to declare war). The President keeps a State Council, or Cabinet, of fifteen to thirty members which serve as an advisory board. Under the President is the Prime Minister, who is chosen by the President and approved by the national assembly. The National Assembly holds all legislative power within the government and is comprised of 299 members serving four year terms. The National Assembly’s responsibilities include “[approving an annual budget], audits of the administration, foreign relations, declaration of war, the dispatch of armed forces abroad and impeachment.”6 Political Corruption Corruption in South Korea’s political system has existed nearly since the nation’s conception. However, it has not always been detrimental. President Park Chung-hee (the father of Park Guen-hye) used a corrupt system to grow the economy. He made deals with select Korean capitalists to provide them “cheap credit from state-owned banks and monopoly privileges to local markets.” These capitalists were “expected to meet government-mandated export targets” to gain more privileges or face loss of access if these targets were not met. Park later used these connections to “finance election campaigns, buy-off supporters and enrich [himself].” While this did grow the economy, it created the chaebols, family-owned business conglomerates that have significant control over the economy today.7 However, the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye has left South Koreans disenchanted with their political system. Park was regarded as a “princess” figure with a well- known past. At the age of 22 when her father was President, Park’s mother was killed in a North Korean assassination attempt on the president. She “effectively became South Korea’s first lady” after her mother’s death, remaining prominent in politics until her father’s assassination by his own spy chief in 1979. She represented the conservative politics of her father that resonated with many of older generations. Unlike her father’s past economy building corrupt business ties, Park Guen-hye was found funneling money to childhood friend and prominent cult member Choi Soon-sil. Citizens have responded to the corruption through peaceful protest and following through with the democratic process to remove President Park. Peacefully dealing with an involuntary transfer of power is a big step forward for democracy in South Korea given its 6 “South Korea Profile,” Nations Online, http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/korea_south_profile.htm 7 Michael Rock, “South Korea’s Long History of Corruption has Yielded Mixed Results,” The Hill, 23 March 2017, http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/economy-budget/325465-south-koreas-long-history-of-corruption-has-yielded- mixed heavily militarized past. Domestic support for the democratically elected President Moon is high, but skepticism towards the government remains.8 Economy The ROK’s economic situation is relatively stable now, despite facing a tumultuous past of poor beginnings and multiple financial crises. “In the 1960s, GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia.” Through corrupt partnerships between government and business, South Korea became a trillion-dollar economy by 2004. “The Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998 exposed longstanding weaknesses in South Korea's development model,” leading it to adopt reforms promoting greater openness to foreign investment and imports.
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