The Fall of 'Corrupt but Competent' Leadership in South Korea

A bizarre corruption scandal. Massive street protests. A president impeached and removed. On a cursory look, recent events in South Korea may appear to have plunged the country into turmoil. In fact, what the country is experiencing is a remarkable triumph of democracy.

In 2012, South Korea’s democracy experienced a severe regression when Park Geun-hyewas elected the country’s 18th president with 51.6 percent of the vote, on the back of a decidedly anti-democratic wave. Amid the global financial crisis of 2008, a large segment of Korean society—particularly its older members—fondly remembered the authoritarian rule of Park Chung-hee, Park Geun-hye’s father. They expected her to deliver results like her father, while looking away from his assault on democracy. A slim majority of Koreans